Answered Prayers
by SLPikachu
Summary: After the brothers take care of a demon, they find something else they weren't expecting to find and Dean becomes attached. (First time at an AU) Re-edited!
1. Chapter 1

Answered Prayers

A little girl, looked to be five years old, sat on her couch watching TV. Her jeans were ripped and had stains all over them, along with her long-sleeved, black and grey, striped shirt. Her feet were bare and black on the bottom, and her shoulder-length blond hair was oily and dirty as well. Bruises covered her face and all along her arms and torso that her shirt hid from sight.

It seemed like a quiet night which seemed weird considering her parents normally got into fights. Her father would be drunk while her mother was stoned out of her mind. The little girl, Micah would just hide it out behind the couch while they duked it out, usually lasting until they were passed out.

As the cartoon played, her father stumbled in using the wall to catch himself. Unknown to the broken family of the black smoke that slipped in through the air vent, it floated over Micah's head and over to the man who would have been completely naked if it wasn't for a pair of green boxer shorts. It went in, through the drunken man's mouth when he went to chug more of his beer.

Micah had seen it from the corner of her eye and scooted back afraid. She saw her father's eyes turn black and stared over at her. Quickly climbing over the couch, Micah hid there and curled into a ball. It wasn't long before she heard her mother's footsteps come into the room, creaking on the wooden floor with each heavy step.

Micah's mother seemed to be pissed about something but who knows if it was logical or not, or if she was really upset at all. She just tried to pick a fight with her husband or whoever stood in her path when she was high, or sometimes drunk. Micah's mother of course started in but was suddenly cut short and soon, a cracking sound was heard, followed by a loud thump as if something had hit the floor. Micah dared not to look and wished she had grabbed her stuffed zebra Rex when she had ducked behind the couch.

Tears filled her eyes as she lied there, behind the couch, praying for an angel to save her.

The front door burst open and Micah heard a couple pairs of feet dash inside. A splash of water and her father's cry was heard, followed by someone speaking in a language she never heard before. Micah tightened her grip on herself and bit down on her lower lip until she could taste a bitter, salty taste of blood as she heard things breaking and someone being thrown around. The couch was even tilted back, hitting the wall above her.

Micah stole a glance upward to briefly see the back of some guy's head. From what she could see, he had blond hair like hers but a lot shorter like a guy usually kept. She stood up, onto her hands and knees and slowly made her way to the end of the couch to peek out, curious. It was then she saw her father get stabbed by the blond-haired guy and saw light shoot out of his eyes and mouth.

She shrieked and quickly moved back. Thinking shrieking was probably a bad idea Micah grew even more terrified and sat back to hug her legs to her, shaking all over. A really tall guy, with brown hair longer than the blond-haired guy's, peeked behind the couch and was surprised to find a little girl sitting there.

He turned his head to call over to the blond-haired guy, "Dean, you better come see this. There's one more that lives here."

Micah started scooting back across the floor. Soon, the blond-haired guy called Dean was back and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Son of a bitch," he muttered and pushed past the tall guy to kneel down to Micah's level.

"It's okay," he tried to assure Micah in a soft, reassuring voice and shook his head. "We're not gonna hurt you, I promise. I'm Dean and this is my brother, Sam. What's your name?"

Micah didn't respond. Her chest was moving in and out, rapidly as she breathed like she was running a marathon.

Dean, remembering the knife in his hand, handed it to his brother and returned his attention to the little girl. His eyes was scanning Micah, giving her an once-over. Since she was behind the couch, it was hard to get a good look at her.

The taller guy, Sam had noticed the stuffed zebra on the couch and figured it was hers. He grabbed it and handed it to Dean, telling him to pass it to the little girl. Dean took the stuffed zebra and held it out to Micah.

"This is yours, right?" he asked.

Micah slowly nodded, wanting her only best friend so badly.

Dean placed it on the floor when he knew she wasn't going to come get it and slid it across the floor to her. Micah quickly grabbed it and hugged it tightly to her. He continued to watch her, stealing a glance with his brother before turning back to Micah.

Dean sat back and crossed his legs as if he was going to wait for when she was ready.

"Dean, we should probably go," Sam suggested. "We can call the police and they can pick her up when they pick up the bodies."

Dean shook his head, "We're not just gonna leave her here, Sam. Not when there are more demons around here."

"What are we gonna do with a kid, Dean? Take her to Bobby's?"

He shot a look up at his brother, "There's no telling how long it'll take before the police are able to pick her up." Dean turned back to Micah. "We just want to help you, okay?" he assured her. "I promise we won't hurt you."

Micah was biting her lower lip again. She wondered if this was the angel she had always prayed for every night since as long as she could remember. Even though she was scared to death, Micah decided to get back onto her hands and knees and crawl over to the man, climbing into his lap.

Dean allowed the little girl to sit in his lap and put his arms around her, affectionately. "See, everything's okay. Can you tell us your name now?"

Micah still did not answer him but from the gentle touch, she could feel something she had never felt from her own parents and wrapped her skinny arms around Dean's neck and soon felt a hand rubbing her back, in soothing circles as he continued to assure her that everything would be all right.

Dean sent Sam upstairs to pack a bag for the little girl. Sam tried to object but Dean wouldn't hear any of it. With a frustrated sigh, Sam headed upstairs. Dean could feel how oily Micah's hair was against his left cheek.

"It's okay, kiddo. Don't you worry about a thing. I will take care of you for now."

Micah's fear was starting to cease but didn't completely go away as she happened to look over at her father's lifeless body.

After a minute, Dean spoke again, "I'm gonna stand up, okay? Don't be afraid." Very carefully, while still holding onto her, Dean got to his feet and placed Micah on his side to get a better look at her in the light. He felt Micah tense up at the movement but she didn't lift her head.

He then headed for the front door, shifting Micah to where she wouldn't be able to see her mother's lifeless body and met Sam at the bottom of the stairs. Dean asked his brother, "Where the bag?"

"There were only two bedrooms up there," Sam shook his head. "And one had an old army cot with only a sheet and no blanket. There wasn't a dresser and the only kid clothes I could find were a paper-thin, stained T-shirt and a pair of jeans that was rented out to a family of mice."

Micah could feel the grip Dean had on her tightened in an even more loving hold. "So, what you're saying is, this kid could have been abused?" he asked.

Sam shrugged, "That would be my guess."

Dean just shook his head at the floor.

"I really think we should get the police involved, Dean. They can take her to a foster home and get her cleaned up and clean clothes. I mean, we've got enough on our plates as it is."

Micah tightened her own grip on Dean. She didn't know what a foster home was but she didn't want her angel to leave her. Though she was still afraid, Micah could sometimes tell when a person had a good and caring soul and she could see now that this Dean guy was A-Okay.

"Fine," she heard Dean finally say and felt a tear fill her eye and run down her cheek. Her spirits were lifted a little when she heard him finish." Since it's late I say we take her back to the motel, run her a bath, feed her, and take her to the police in the morning." Dean didn't even wait for his brother to respond before he was heading out the door and out to a black car, parked in front of Micah's house.

Dean walked around the car and opened the side door to gently set Micah down in the backseat. Micah didn't want to let him go but Dean insisted.

"It's only for a little bit. Are you hungry? Did you eat tonight?" he asked her.

Tonight? Micah hadn't even eaten at all that day. She shook her head and jumped out of her skin when Sam had slammed his door shut.

"Sam, be careful," Dean scolded his brother. "You just scared her."

Sam looked back, over the seat. "Sorry," he said.

Micah just stared him. She still wasn't convinced of Sam yet and scooted closer to Dean for protection. Her father was really tall like Sam was so it didn't help much. She felt Dean kiss her forehead before he stood up and closed her door, careful not to scare her like Sam had done before he opened the driver's car door and slid inside under the steering wheel and started the car.

As Dean pulled away from the curb and drove towards their motel, Micah sat behind him, clutching her zebra to her. She hoped Dean would change his mind and keep her. He was growing on her with each passing second and with every action. No one had ever kissed her, not since before her grandmother died who also had given Micah, her zebra. In fact, everything Dean had done, her grandmother used to do so Micah had an understanding of what a good person was even if he was a guy. Sam though, she was convinced he might turn on her but it seemed like Dean would protect her from him.

Dean stopped at a McDonald's so he could run through the drive-thru and ordered a kid's meal for Micah, asking for chicken nuggets since he wasn't sure if Micah was allergic to cheese and got her a Sprite since it was non caffeinated . Sam ordered a salad while Dean got himself a Big Mac meal. After they left the fast food place it was a short drive to the motel where Dean slid out and opened Micah's door.

Micah turned to get out herself but Dean told her not to.

"There's broken glass on the ground I don't want you stepping on," he explained and lifted her up onto his side again and carried her inside the motel room while Sam carried in the food. Dean set her down on her feet to remove his jacket and was finally able to get a good look at her and the bruises on her face. "I'm gonna give you bath first before we eat, okay?"

Micah nodded up at him and followed Dean into the bathroom where he looked under the sink. Whoever stayed there before had left a bottle of shampoo so Dean grabbed it and moved over to the tub and turned on the water, getting the temperature just right before plugging the drain with a drain plug.

While the bathtub filled, Dean sat on the toilet lid and removed Micah's shirt to find even more bruises covering her whole front and back, along with her arms. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered to himself. "Damn parents." Dean raised his voice to a normal speaking voice. "Do those hurt?" he nodded towards her bruises.

Micah nodded, slowly.

"I'll try to be careful when I'm washing your body then, okay?"

She nodded again in understanding. Her waist was so thin that Dean was able to help her remove her jeans without unfastening them and let her hold onto his right shoulder to step out. When he slid her underwear down, Dean couldn't help notice the back of them were torn in a couple places and turned Micah around, gently to get a look at her bottom. It was a very light pink, almost faded, like she had been spanked several hours before.

Dean just shook his head and let Micah climb into the tub and sit down in the water. "Does the water feel okay?" he asked her, kneeling beside it.

Micah nodded.

He reached over and shut off the water when it was at a reasonable level and looked around for something he could use to scoop water into. "I'll be right back." Dean stood up again and left the bathroom.

The water was already turning dirty from Micah just sitting there. The water didn't feel like how her mother would make it. When her mother ran Micah a bath, it would burn her and Micah wasn't allowed to get out until she was told to. This bath felt nice.

Dean finally came back with a paper cup from a diner, rinsed out. He kneeled back down beside the tub and scooped the cup into the water. Covering her eyes with his left hand, Dean poured the water over Micah's head, repeating the process a couple times more and left the cup in the water. He then grabbed the Suave brand shampoo and squirted some into his palm, lathering it in his hands before lathering the shampoo in her hair, scrubbing firmly enough to clean right down to the roots but did not hurt Micah.

"You okay?" he asked, stopping for a moment. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

Micah was squeezing her eyes shut. She shook her head.

"That's good," he replied and continued to lather her hair. When he was finally done, he grabbed the cup, filling it with water. "Keep your eyes shut, okay." Dean then covered Micah's eyes again and poured the water over her head to rinse out the shampoo, doing it a few times like before. Handing her the cup to play with, Dean left the bathroom again.

Micah scooped the cup into the water like she saw him and poured it out, repeating it until Dean came back.

"You're lucky I had an extra, brand new bar of soap," he smiled at the little girl and wet a dark blue wash cloth in the water before lathering the soap inside it and began to scrub Micah's body, being careful when he went over her bruises. "Have I earned the honor of knowing your name yet?"

Micah stared at him, confused. She wasn't sure what he had meant.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked, somehow knowing she was confused.

Micah stared at the man who had been so kind to her, so far. Finally, she answered in a soft, quiet voice, just above a whisper, "Micah."

"Micah?" he repeated.

She nodded.

"That's a pretty name. Do you remember my name?" Dean washed along her neck, leading eventually to her back.

Micah thought about it, trying to remember his name. Dirk, Dan, Dane? What was it again? She wasn't sure and was afraid to take a guess in fear he might get mad with her.

Dean only gave her a reassuring smile. "It's Dean," he reminded her.

When Dean finished washing her body he stood up and grabbed a large, fluffy white towel from the towel rack above the toilet and had Micah stand up so he could wrap the towel around her in a hug and lift her from the tub, setting her back down on her feet, on the bathroom rug. He sat on the toilet lid again and dried Micah off with the towel. He then carried her, wrapped in the towel from the bathroom over beside the bed where he set her down.

Tossing the towel over on the floor, he went into his duffel bag and pulled out one of his plain T-shirts and scrunched it up in his hands, kneeling down to her level and placed it over her head and held it so she could put her arms through the sleeves. Dean pulled it down which dropped to just below Micah's knees.

Sam looked over from where he was eating his salad on his bed while checking his laptop. "You're letting her wear your shirt?" he asked his brother.

He shrugged, "After I put her to bed, I'm gonna wash her clothes in the sink for tomorrow."

Sam looked amazed at that. "You don't even like doing your own laundry," he pointed out.

Dean sat down on the edge of his bed, facing the head board. "Well, I'm not letting her put dirty clothes back on after she had a bath." He reached into the kid's meal paper bag and took out the box of chicken nuggets and looked over at Micah. He ushered her to sit with him with his head, "You can sit down if you want."

Micah moved closer and climbed up onto the bed, using the comforter to pull herself up. Dean gave her a nudge up as well and handed her the box of nuggets. Reaching into the bag again, he pulled out the French fries next and dumped them into the lid of the nugget box.

"If you're still hungry you can share my fries with me, okay?" he told her.

Micah nodded up at him and started eating like she was starving. Dean had to tell her to slow down before she choked on her food, offering Micah some of her soda before placing it on the nightstand where it was before with his own drink.

Halfway through the meal Micah saw where she had put her zebra down and reached over to grab it, holding it to her while she finished eating.

Dean watched her. "Does the horse have a name?" he asked, between bites of his sandwich.

"Zebra, Dean," Sam corrected him.

"Huh?" he asked over at his brother.

"Her stuffed animal is a zebra, not a horse."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said and turned back to the little girl. "Does the zebra have a name?"

Micah motioned for his ear with her left hand. When Dean slouched over to give her his ear, she whispered, "Rex."

"Rex, huh," he smiled. "That's a cool name."

When Micah finished her food she did end up sharing Dean's French fries with him, after all. Once the food was all gone, Dean stood up and lifted Micah up to place her down on one of the pillows and covered her up.

"Get some rest, sweetheart. It's been a long night for you, huh?" Dean smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

Micah reached up for a hug good night which he moved closer so she could wrap her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek like she used to when her grandmother was around. The kiss melted Dean's heart even more.

"Good night, Micah," he told her softly.

Micah then turned over, clutching her zebra to her and went right to sleep. She didn't wake up until later that night. Micah had started having a nightmare about the black smoke and her father's eyes turning black. It hadn't started out sweet though. It started out like a normal dream for her, about how she would try and run from one of her many "punishments" her parents felt she needed, then when her father caught up to Micah, she saw his eyes turn black just before he tried to grab her. That was when Micah shot awake, realizing it was dark.

She wasn't sure where she was. The bed was softer than the army cot she slept on and there was more than a thin sheet covering her. Micah looked around, terrified and started crying. It eventually woke Dean who reached up to turn on the light.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he told her, concerned for the little girl, pulling Micah into his arms.

Micah then remembered all that had happened and how Dean had saved her. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and cried into his stomach.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Micah. You're safe now. It was only a bad dream." Dean held her in his arms and rubbed her back in soothing circles like he had done before, holding her behind her family's couch until she was able to calm down and fall back to sleep. He then lied down with her again and turned out the light before falling asleep too.


	2. Chapter 2

Answered Prayers

Chapter 2

Micah woke up the next morning first and found her toy from the happy meal on the nightstand. She walked around the motel room pretending the pink, purple-manned _My Little Pony _toy could fly. She was having so much fun she didn't hear Sam wake up. He had stood up from his bed and headed for the bathroom. Micah continued to fly her toy pony around not watching where she was going and bumped right into him.

Micah jumped back in fright as she looked up at the giant man compared to her size. He told her, "Woah, watch it there, kid." She backed away with tears filling up in her eyes until she backed into the wall.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. It was an accident," Sam assured her, bluntly. "Just watch where you're going next time. Okay?"

Micah then took a chance and dashed past the giant and over to where Dean was still sleeping and climbed up, onto the bed, over Dean's waist. Her knee pressing into his stomach woke Dean up, suddenly.

Dean sat up, suddenly, rubbing where Micah's knee had gone in which made Micah flinch backwards. The little girl lost her balance and fell off the bed onto the floor. Upon impact, Micah busted out, crying. Throwing back the comforter, Dean scooted over to the other side and bent down to lift Micah up into his arms.

Micah was holding her head as she balled her eyes out.

"Shhh, let me see, Micah," Dean told her, softly and moved her hand to look at the back of her head, moving her hair to examine the scalp for a bruise or blood. There wasn't either. He held the back of her head to him and comforted her. "You're all right. There's no blood or a bruise. I'm sorry I scared you." Dean was rubbing the back of Micah's head where it hurt as she cried into his shoulder.

When her cries grew to quiet sniffles, Dean set Micah down on her feet and went into the bathroom to grab her clothes he had left hanging up over the shower and brought them over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Come here, Micah," he told her.

Micah hesitated. Her usual morning routine was started by her father calling her over, still drunk from the night before. She backed away as she shook her head as her bottom lip quivered.

"I'm just gonna help you get dressed, okay?" Dean assured. "I won't hurt you, I promise." He held out his hands to her, giving Micah a kind smile.

Eventually, after a few minutes, Micah slowly made her way over to Dean. When she was close enough, Dean removed his shirt from her, tossing it on the floor and grabbed her underwear from beside him and held it out so Micah could step into them while holding onto his right shoulder before pulling them up. Dean then grabbed her jeans and did the same.

Micah was so thin her ribs were visible and she was the main punching bag when her parents were angry or upset, usually with each other, or when the Lakers lost a game. Her father would grab ahold of his daughter's upper arms and just yell at her about how the game should have went, sometimes blaming Micah. Spit would fly from his mouth all over her face, disgusted. Micah seemed so lost and confused how she could have made a basketball team in a whole other state lose but Micah was never allowed to speak unless she was given permission to. As punishment, sometimes they wouldn't feed her, making her starve for a couple days before feeding her again.

Monsters Dean hunted he could understand but humans were a whole other story. How anyone could treat a child, especially their own like that? He sadly shook his head as he scrunched up Micah's shirt and placed it over her head before holding it so she could put her arms through the sleeves and pulled the shirt down.

"There," he smiled, "fresh, clean clothes. Feels nice, don't it?"

Micah only stared at him.

"After we grab breakfast, Sam and I will take you to Child Services and hopefully you can have a nice home with a mom and a dad who will treat you better and give you more clean clothes to wear." The night before, Sam had researched where they should take Micah online and found where the closest Child Services building was.

Micah frowned. She had forgotten Dean wasn't going to keep her and a tear fell from her eye. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and she really was starting to like the guy even though she still flinched when he called her over or moved a certain way, he showed her more compassion than her own father had ever shown.

She clung to him at that point and shook her head against his chest.

Dean looked down at her, moving his hand to rub her back. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked.

Micah moved her face to cry, silently into his chest. She didn't want to go live in a foster home. She wanted to stay with who she thought was her angel. She wanted Dean to be her father.

He ran his hand along Micah's hair and kissed the top of it. "Talk to me, Mic. What's wrong? You don't want to have a nice home with a mom and dad?"

Micah shook her head, not lifting it from his chest.

"Why not?"

Micah sniffed in but stayed quiet as she continued to cry into his chest, now clutching Dean's shirt in both of her hands. All she ever wanted was someone to love her and make her feel special. To kiss her good-night and hold her when she was afraid.

It finally clicked on in Dean's mind what it was that was making her upset. "You weren't hoping you could stay with us, were you?" he asked.

Micah nodded, slowly.

Dean's heart broke for the little girl. Here was this abused, terrified, little girl who barely uttered a word and she was already attached to him. Okay, he can admit, he was attached to her too but he couldn't take in a kid, right now. He had tried to walk away from hunting, a whole year, in fact. Dean would also admit he would like to be a father but it was better if he wasn't in one's life, screwing their lives up.

At that moment, Micah finally looked up at Dean, her eyes shining with tears and looking like a small, lost puppy with her lip still quivering. A look like that could melt the heart of anyone. If it didn't, one had to have a very, rock-hard heart. Dean's heart was melting like a popsicle on the Fourth of July.

"I can't…." He stopped mid-sentence. Dean then tried to tell her he had a dangerous job but Micah wouldn't have any of it. All Micah thought of was having her angel as a father, everything else went in one ear and out the other.

Finally, Dean leaned back and grabbed the TV remote from the nightstand before sitting up and turned on the TV. Surfing through the basic cable channels, he stopped on _Ni Hao, Kai-Lan_ and set the remote on the bed beside him. "Can you watch cartoons for a minute while I make a phone call, sweetheart? I will be right back, I promise."

Micah nodded up at him.

"Here," Dean handed her, her zebra and pony figurine, one at a time before standing up. He grabbed his jacket where it was slung on the dresser, next to the TV and pulled his phone out from one of the pockets, taking it outside, shutting the door behind him, and walked down to the end of the pavement as he dialed Jo's number.

Jo picked up on the third ring. _"About time you called. I was starting to get worried."_

Dean forced a small smile at that. "Yeah, sorry about that, Jo. How've you been?" he asked.

"_I'm fine, I miss you. When are you coming home?"_

"About that. Remember that one time when you said you wanted a couple kids and I said it was out of the question?"

"_What about it?"_

Dean stared at the ground for a few seconds before looking up. "Do you still want kids?"

"_Of course. Why?" _she asked, suspiciously.

Dean looked back over his right shoulder for a brief moment. "Our last hunt, Sam and I found this kid." He then went on to explain what happened the night before, telling Jo about the demon hunt and about Micah.

"_Dean, that was sweet of you for stepping in and helping that little girl but we can't adopt, remember? You and Sam are supposed to be dead, remember. Even if you come out, you still have that criminal record. They'll never let you adopt a kid,"_ Jo reminded him.

"Then we won't adopt her, legally," Dean shrugged.

"_What about school? We don't have any of her important documents."_

"Come on, Jo," he pleaded with her. "The kid really wants to stay with me and I sort of want her too. We can figure out something. Come on, please?" It felt so weird being on this side of the conversation, this time. Last time the topic was having children, Jo was pleading with Dean now it seemed like the other way around.

After Lucifer was thrown back into his cage, with Michael, Adam, and Sam, Dean decided to go look for Jo and quit hunting for a year. They lived together while Dean worked in a nearby car garage and Jo worked in the Roadhouse they had rebuilt after it had caught on fire by the yellow-eyed demon.

After a year had gone by, Dean learned that Sam was alive and was pulled back into hunting when Sam needed help. It was then he learned Sam had been alive the entire time, but only Bobby knew. Bobby didn't tell Dean because he was hoping Dean would settle into a normal life and hopefully, one day, start a family of his own.

Jo wanted to say yes to Dean to take in Micah, so badly. She stayed silent for a while as Dean eagerly waited for a reply. Finally, she gave in and said yes.

Dean felt relieved to hear her say that. "As soon as we're done here, I'll head home. There's one more demon in this town," he told her.

"_But what will you do with Micah while you're fighting it?"_ Jo asked.

"I will stay back at the motel with her while Sam handles it," Dean shrugged. "I will be home as soon as I can."

"_Okay. I love you," _Jo replied.

"Love you too." They both hung up and Dean headed back inside where Micah was still watching cartoons. "Sam, you ready yet? I'm starving," Dean called to his brother.

Sam walked out of the bathroom, dressed. "Yeah, just have to throw on my shoes."

"We'll have to do take-out or a drive-thru since Micah doesn't have any shoes and bring it back here." Dean grabbed his jacket and threw it on, before flipping off the TV by the power button under the screen.

"Why don't we just eat in the car on the way to Child Services?" Sam suggested.

Dean then grabbed his keys from the dresser, on the other side of the TV. "Because we're not going to Child Services."

Sam couldn't believe what he just heard. "What?"

"You heard me. We're not going," Dean told him. He lifted Micah up onto his side where she clung to his neck.

"Dean, you're not thinking of keeping her, are you?"

"And what if I am?" he shrugged. "Jo's been pushing for kids of our own anyway."

Sam had sat down on his bed to put his shoes on and was finishing up tying the shoestrings. He stood up and grabbed his own jacket from the bed, throwing it on. "How are you gonna raise a kid while being a hunter? Like Dad?" he asked. "From growing up in an abusive home, Dean, she won't understand you leaving and being gone all the time."

"We'll figure out the details later, Sammy. Right now, we need to find this demon and send its ass back to hell so we can head back to my place." Dean turned and headed out the door, carrying Micah out to the Impala. He opened the car door to the backseat and set her down on his side, closing it before opening his and slid inside.

Sam locked the motel room door and walked around to his side of the Impala, sliding into the front seat as Dean started the engine. As Dean drove to the nearest breakfast-served place, Micah moved her pony figurine along the door at the bottom of the window. He adjusted his rear-view mirror so he could watch her play and couldn't help smile.

They stopped at a take-out place where Sam had gone in and ordered while Dean stayed in the Impala with Micah, listening to the radio. After a few minutes, Micah had noticed the green army man sticking out of the ashtray in the door and tried pulling it out. Dean noticed in the mirror.

"Leave it alone, Micah," he tried to scold her in a gentle voice without sounding harsh. It still made her jump and scoot away from the door, huddling into a ball as she stared at the seat. Dean sighed, seeing the heartbreaking reaction and stood up onto his legs to climb over the front seat, taking Micah's seat.

Micah started scooting back even more, scared to death of what Dean was going to do to her. She quickly started breathing hard and shook her head as if to plead with him not to punish her.

Dean assured her again, "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. I would never hurt you like your mom and dad did to you. In fact, you're gonna come live with me and my friend." He wasn't sure if Micah knew what a girlfriend was so Dean just called Jo a friend and would explain later. "I'm gonna be your dad now. How does that sound?"

Micah was shaking against the door, holding her zebra in her arms. She relaxed a little when Dean told her he was going to be her father.

"And my friend, Jo is gonna be your mom. We're gonna take care of you and make sure you're safe."

Micah lowered her zebra and moved closer to Dean, never taking her eyes off of him. Dean smiled at her and reached out to pull her onto his lap to hold her and kissed the top of her head.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," he whispered to Micah.


	3. Chapter 3

Answered Prayers

Chapter 3

After they had grabbed breakfast, Sam had gone to do some more searching on where the last demon could be while Dean stayed back at the motel with Micah. They lied on the bed, watching cartoons most of the time until Dean started feeling bored. Micah was lying halfway on his stomach, clutching her zebra to her.

Dean had to hold in the urge to shout out at the TV a couple times when the cartoon characters took five minutes to ask the audience where something was and it was clearly out in the open. Finally, after two hours of cartoons, he slid out from under the little girl and began searching around the room for something the two of them could do to bond.

Looking through the cabinets, he found a stack of board games inside one of them. "Hey, Micah," he called over to her. "Would you like to play a game?"

Micah sat up and looked over at him. She scooted to the edge of the bed and slid down to walk over to stand beside where Dean was kneeled.

"We got Sorry, Monopoly, Connect Four…Ooh, there's Battle Ship. That's a fun game," he smiled at the little girl who was looking at him like he was speaking another language. "You never played a board game in your life, have you?" Dean asked her in realization.

She shook her head.

So Dean looked at the board games again trying to pick out a simple one. He figured Connect Four would be the simplest and pulled it out before turning around and sitting flat, crossing his legs. Dean lifted the lid off the box, inviting Micah to sit down. Once he had the game put together, he separated the round red and black plastic chips.

"Which color do you want? Red or black?" he asked.

If it wasn't for the cartoons she watched, Micah wouldn't know how to count or her colors so when she pointed to red and Dean asked her what color that was he was impressed she knew. Dean pushed the red chips towards her with his arm and explained how to play, going first. It had seemed like Micah had gotten it at first but Dean learned that she was just sticking her chips in random slots.

Around two in the afternoon, Dean started feeling hungry again and Sam still wasn't back yet. "You hungry, Mic?" he asked Micah from the window he was looking out.

Micah nodded at him from the floor. She had gotten bored with the game and was stacking all the red and black chips as towers. Since Sam had taken the Impala, Dean and Micah walked across the street to a restaurant. Well, Dean did the walking while he carried Micah in his arms.

He pulled open the door to the restaurant and headed inside, over to the to-go register asking for a menu. "What would you like to eat, Mic? Cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, or mac and cheese?" Dean asked Micah.

Micah didn't answer.

"Cheeseburger?"

She shook her head.

"Chicken nuggets like you had last night?"

Again, Micah shook her head.

"Mac and cheese?"

This time, she nodded.

Dean smiled, "Mac and cheese, it is. What would you like to drink? What's your favorite?"

"Juice," Micah replied, softly.

"Okay, we'll see if they have any." When it was Dean's turn to order, he ordered Micah's first. "Do you guys have any juice?" he asked the young cashier.

"We have orange juice," he replied.

Dean turned to Micah, "Orange juice okay?"

She nodded. Orange juice was actually Micah's favorite and was what she meant to say. She could drink it with every meal if possible.

Dean then ordered his food, getting Sam his usual meal as well, and paid. While they waited, Micah kept her head on his left shoulder, staring off into space. Dean looked down at her and smiled. He reached for one of her bare feet and tickled the bottom of it, gently. Micah's foot twitched from the touch which made him snicker and did it once more until a smile snuck out on Micah's face. She tried to move her foot out of his reach but Dean still managed to reach it and continued. Micah tried to hide the smile in his shoulder. Dean finally stopped and kissed her right cheek.

When they called his name, Dean walked back up to the cashier and grabbed the paper bag, asking Micah if she could hold it for him so he could grab the drinks and left the restaurant.

Micah held the bag as tight as she could so she wouldn't drop it and make Dean angry. She could hear her father yelling in her head about how clumsily she could be and started crying as the words got louder.

"What's wrong, Mic?" Dean asked when he saw her tears.

She didn't hear at first so Dean had to keep trying until Micah snapped out of her thoughts, jumping enough to drop the bag onto the sidewalk leading to their motel room and quickly shut her eyes, waiting for the worse, whimpering now like a scared puppy.

Dean kneeled down to grab the paper bag with his pointer finger of the hand that was holding the drinks and stood back up, kissing Micah on the forehead. "No harm done, Mic. It's okay, accidents happen."

Micah still kept her eyes shut as he walked over to their door to pound on it with his right foot since he saw the Impala in the parking lot. Sam eventually opened it and took the food and drinks from his brother as Dean walked inside and over to his bed where he set Micah down, kneeling in front of her.

"Micah, look at me," he told her, gently.

She shook her head. "I sorry," Micah whimpered.

Dean reached out and rubbed the little girl's upper arms, "I know you are, Mic. Like I said, it was just an accident. You didn't mean to drop the food."

Micah kept her eyes closed, looking down at her lap. Dean reached over and grabbed her zebra from the bed and held her right hand so she could feel he was handing it to her.

"Here, Rex is here for you and so am I." He kissed her forehead one last time before standing up to grab the bag from the dresser where Sam had set it down and began taking everything out until he found the styoform container containing Micah's macaroni and cheese, grabbing a plastic fork from beside the bag where he put it. Dean brought it over to Micah, opening the lid and mixed the macaroni around.

Micah had snuck a chance to open her eyes but immediately shut them again when Dean came back.

Dean kneeled back down. "Hey, it's time to eat. Can you open your eyes so you can eat your lunch?" He grinned, "You can't eat with your eyes closed, right?"

She shook her head and slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

"There's those pretty blue-green eyes," Dean continued to smile. "Here's your mac and cheese. Try not to make a mess on the bed, okay? But remember, accidents do happen." He stood up once more and kissed the top of her head this time.

Sam was watching his brother as he stood in front of the bathroom. "Uh," Sam shrugged.

Dean looked over at his brother as he walked back over to grab Micah's juice and hand it to her to hold in her lap while she ate.

"I stand by what I said before, Dean about that whole Dr. Huxable vibe like you had with that other kid," Sam reminded him of the hunt not that long ago he called Dean for help on, with a baby shapeshifter. "You still have father material."

"The kid needs someone," he shrugged, grabbing his burger, French fries, and drink and carried it over to sit on the bed. Setting the drink on the nightstand, he leaned against a pillow that was still propped up from earlier and set his French fries on the bed beside him so he could unwrap his burger.

Sam walked over to grab his lunch. "Just don't turn into Dad," he said.

"I've been thinking about that and it won't happen. Micah's not gonna become a hunter like us. She'll have the best childhood I can give her." Dean then bit into his burger.

Grabbing his drink too, Sam walked over to sit on the edge of his own bed, facing his brother. "How are you gonna do that when you will be gone all the time hunting? Hunts can take up to a few days to a couple weeks sometimes, depending on what it is or how many at most."

Dean rubbed his eyes with one hand before looking up at Sam. "I don't know, Sam. Okay? Didn't I say we'd deal with the details later?"

Sam sighed and started taking the lid off his chicken salad. "I found a lead on the demon. It things go right tonight, we may be able to leave town tonight," he told Dean.

"Good," Dean said.

That night, Dean found a Disney movie on TV for Micah to watch until she fell asleep. She didn't make it all the way through and neither did Dean. He fell asleep not too long after Micah did. Sam came home late that night, around two in the morning, tired and sore.

Micah had woken up when she heard the door being unlocked and hid underneath the covers when it opened. She heard Sam set the keys on the dresser and his footsteps walk into the bathroom, shutting the TV off in the process, where eventually she heard the shower come on. Micah clung to Dean's arm as he continued to sleep. Micah was shaking after a while, making Dean turn over his sleep and wrap an arm around her, protectively.

Ten minutes came and went. The shower was turned off and after a few minutes, Sam came out of the bathroom dressed. Stumbling around in the dark as he tried to make it to his bed, Sam stubbed his toe.

"Damn it," he cursed, bending over to hold it as he leaned on the dresser. When Sam made his way to walk in between the beds, he stepped on Micah's pony figurine and fell over onto his bed, in a sitting position, clutching the same foot as he groaned in pain.

Micah was still awake and could hear everything she just didn't know what was going on. She inched even closer to Dean and hid her face in his chest.

The next morning, the brothers packed up the Impala and headed out of town finally. They grabbed breakfast on the way. As Micah ate her breakfast, Dean looked up at her through the rear-view mirror.

"We're on our way to your new home, Mic," he told her. "You excited?"

Micah didn't respond. She just nibbled on her hashbrown bites. It was a long drive which Micah didn't say a word, not even when she had to use the bathroom. Luckily, Dean had noticed she couldn't sit still and tried to hold her legs together.

"Do you need to go, Micah?" he asked her in the rear-view mirror.

Micah nodded.

Dean sighed.

"I told you we should have stopped at that gas station back there," Sam told him.

Dean shot his brother a glare but knew he was right and pulled into the parking lot of a Target shopping center and parked closest to the door. He jumped out and lifted Micah out of the backseat to rush her inside, thankful the restrooms were right next to the entrance. Dean set her down in the doorway to the girls' restroom for her to go inside but Micah didn't move.

"I thought you said you had to go?" he asked her. "There's the restroom."

Micah stared at the white, hard floor and Dean realized she was crying. He placed his hands on his sides, wondering why she wasn't moving when he felt his side wet. Dean had been more focused getting Micah to a restroom he hadn't noticed she wasn't able to hold it any longer.

He kneeled to her level, "You couldn't hold it long enough, huh?"

Micah shook her head, shaking now and flinched from his gentle touch.

Sam walked inside the store and over to them. "Hey, Dean, I don't think she made it to the restroom in time. The car smells like…"

"Shut it, Sam," Dean told his brother and turned his attention back to the little girl. "It's okay, Mic," he assured her. "I should have stopped ahead of time. It's my fault, okay?"

Micah was staring at the floor, sniffling to herself, expecting a punishment for having an accident. Dean asked Sam to grab a shopping cart while he continued to assure her she wasn't in trouble. Sam walked over and grabbed a shopping cart, bringing it back over to them. Dean went to lift Micah to place her inside when she tensed up and cried, no, trying to protect herself like she would be hit. He set her back down as eyes darted over in their direction and kneeled back down to her level.

"Micah, I'm not gonna hurt you. It was an accident, you didn't mean to pee yourself," he tried once more to assure her.

Sam had noticed people staring at them. "I swear this feels like déjà vu," he muttered. "Let's just go, Dean."

"We still have a couple hours, Sam before we reach my house. Micah can't sit in urinated clothes," Dean told him. To Micah, "Sweetheart, can you let me put you in the cart? I swear I won't hurt you, I promise." He tried to pull her in to give Micah an assuring hug but she just kept repeating no over and over again, trying to protect herself. Not sure what else to do, Dean stood up and lifted her up into his arms, rubbing her back in circles, comforting her.

Micah stopped when he started rubbing her back and realized Dean wasn't punishing her. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she sniffed before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That's it, sweetheart," Dean told her, gently. "Everything's fine. No one's gonna hurt you." He kissed the side of her head. "Can I put you in the cart now?"

Micah wasn't sure what he meant by cart but lifted her head when he moved forward and lifted her into the plastic, red basket on wheels.

"Can you sit down for me?" he asked her, holding onto her waist.

Micah slowly lowered herself and sat down in the shopping cart.

"You're pushing the cart," Dean told his brother.

Sam jerked his head at that statement. "Me? Why me?" he asked.

"Because I'm still the oldest and I say so. Come on." Dean started walking. Sam rolled his eyes and started pushing the cart after him. The brothers headed over to the kids clothing section and maneuvered their way through the racks. Dean had grabbed socks and underwear for Micah first before turning to ask her, "What do you like wearing? Clothes like what you're wearing?"

Micah looked down at her jeans and long-sleeved striped shirt. She looked back up and nodded.

Since Dean had already seen the sizes of her clothes when he washed them, Dean didn't have to ask if he could check. Dean grabbed a few pairs of jeans and placed them in the cart. As they were leaving the girls section to go find striped shirts in the boys section, Micah saw a pink, long-sleeved shirt with _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan _on the front and reached over where Dean was walking ahead of the cart to tap him, shyly.

Dean stopped to look back, getting the cart bumped into him.

"Dean," Sam complained. "Don't stop like that."

"There was plenty of room for you to notice I had stopped," Dean pointed out.

Sam huffed.

Dean turned to Micah, "What's up, Mic?"

She pointed over at the shirt.

Dean looked over where she was pointing and smiled at her, "You like that cartoon, huh? Okay, you got it." He let Sam move from the racks, onto the tile so Dean could get through and looked for her size, finding two different kinds of shirts with _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan_ and placed them in the cart with the jeans before moving on.

In the boys clothing section, Dean let Micah pick out what colored striped shirts she wanted, making sure they were long-sleeved. Dean wasn't sure how easily Micah caught cold and didn't want to take any chances and also made sure to grab a jacket for her as well. Once the clothes part was done the Winchesters moved on to the shoe section.

Dean wasn't sure what size shoe Micah was so he ripped open the package of plain, white socks and placed a pair on her feet. He looked around the shoes, keeping a look-out if they had _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan _tennis shoes. There were plenty of _Dora, the Explorer_ ones but not _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan_. He moved along the row, determined to find them until he spotted the only pair and grabbed them, hoping they were the right size.

Taking them back to the cart, he grabbed one and set the box inside the cart to pull out the balled up paper from inside the shoe and undid the velcro straps and pulled them up, lifting the tongue. "Let me see your foot, Mic," he told her.

Micah uncrossed her legs and held out her right foot, terrified what was going to happen. She flinched when Dean held her foot up by her ankle and placed the shoe on her foot and fastened the straps. He then pressed on the toe part of the shoe.

"Can you move your toe?" he asked.

Micah wiggled her toe and nodded.

Dean grabbed the other shoe and did the same thing, asking for her other foot. When both shoes were on, he lifted Micah out of the shopping cart and set her on her feet. "Walk around for me."

Confused, Micah did as she was told and walked around the aisle.

"How do the shoes feel?" Dean asked her. "Do they hurt?"

Micah had been watching her feet as she walked. They felt more comfortable than her old pair of shoes she left back at her house. Her old tennis shoes were bought by her grandmother before she died and of course had gotten too small for Micah as she grew older. Her parents didn't care and made Micah continue to wear them, hurting her feet.

She walked over to Dean again.

"They feel all right?" he asked again.

Micah nodded.

Dean pressed on her toes with the back of his fingers. They seemed all right to him too and he was relieved the shoes were the right size. Dean stood up and lifted Micah back into the cart, telling her to put the shoes back in the box so he could pay for them.

Micah pulled on the straps and yanked both shoes off and placed them in the box as the Winchesters moved on to grab a cleaning solution so Dean could clean up the backseat of his car, before heading up to the registers.

On the way, they passed the tall bouncy ball case and Dean decided to grab a yellow tie-die looking ball and handed it to Micah. He smiled when she looked up at him, "would you like a ball?" Micah took it and held it in her lap as Dean reached down to kiss the top of her head.

When everything was paid for, they left the store and headed out to where Dean parked the Impala, loading everything into the trunk. Micah wanted to sit on his side of the seat even though Dean had set her on Sam's side. In the end, he ended up having to give in. They drove to the nearest motel which was a block away and rented a room so Dean could give Micah a bath and put clean clothes on.

While Micah ate the lunch Sam had bought from the Target's food court while Dean paid for the stuff, Dean took a shower too before he cleaned the backseat and hit the road again.


	4. Chapter 4

Answered Prayers

Chapter 4

Dean pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine, pulling his key out of the ignition. "We're home, Mic," he said when he turned around to smile at Micah.

Micah stared back at the man, hugging her zebra to her. Sam and Dean stepped out of the Impala and Dean opened her door to let her out. Micah scooted over to the edge of the seat and slid out, her feet landing on cement.

"Don't forget your toys," he pointed back behind her at the pony figurine and ball on the seat.

Micah turned around to look back at them and crawled back inside the backseat to grab the toys and crawled backwards to get out again, moving so Dean could shut the car door. Sam had taken the keys from his brother and grabbed the bags out of the trunk while Dean grabbed the duffel bags and headed up the couple brick steps to the front, glass door, heading inside.

Inside the house, the brothers placed everything beside the door for now and headed straight across into the living room where Jo was over in the attached kitchen finishing up dinner. Dean walked over to Jo and kissed her.

"Welcome home," she smiled at him.

"Glad to be home," he smiled in return and kissed her again, longer which was then interrupted by Sam clearing his throat to remind the couple they weren't alone.

Micah was hiding against the desk counter where Jo kept her laptop, peeking around it at Dean and Jo. Jo had noticed Micah when she looked back at Sam.

She smiled, sweetly at the little girl. "You must be Micah," Jo said. "My name's Jo."

Micah quickly hid her head behind the desk counter.

Dean smiled at the little girl. "Come on out, Mic. Jo won't hurt you," he assured her.

Micah stayed hidden, backing into the corner of the wall and desk counter, hugging all her toys to her. Dean walked over and leaned on the desk counter, kneeling to Micah's level.

"It's okay, Mic, you're safe here, I promise. No one's gonna hurt you. Come here," Dean held his arms out to the little girl. Micah sniffed in and walked over to him. Dean took the ball from her and dropped it to his right before lifting Micah up onto his right side and kissed her right cheek.

When Micah saw him walk over to Jo, she tensed up and hid her face in his shoulder. Dean rubbed her back up and down with his left hand. Jo was cutting carrots to throw in a salad she was making. She knew her and Sam would eat it, and hoped Micah would too but knew Dean wouldn't.

Jo tossed in the carrot pieces and turned around to rub Micah's back affectionately. "It's okay, honey," she assured the little girl. "You don't have to be afraid."

Micah did not look up from Dean's shoulder. Instead she gripped the sleeve of his green jacket in her left hand as she held her other arm around his neck. Dean glanced at the timer on the oven and saw it had fifteen minutes left to go.

"I'm gonna take Micah out in the backyard and kick the ball around until dinner's ready," he told Jo.

Jo nodded, "Okay."

Dean turned and set Micah down on her feet. "How about playing outside until dinner's ready," he repeated but to her, his hands on his knees so he was almost at Micah's level.

Micah stared up at him, surprised. She was never allowed to play outside with her parents. She loved playing in her grandmother's backyard. Her grandmother kept a flower garden on the side and there were climbable trees that Micah liked to climb on and had an old, wooden playset from when her mother was a kid and a large trampoline without a net. Micah was hoping Dean had all that stuff too.

She nodded, slowly. "All right," he said, excited. "Come on." Dean took her toys from her, "Go grab your ball."

Micah turned and walked over to where her ball had rolled into the entryway to the dining room. Dean set her toys on the bar counter and walked around it, over to the wooden framed, glass door and opened the door on the right. Micah walked over to the back door which he let her outside first before following behind, shutting the door behind him.

They stepped out onto the deck and down a few steps, onto the grass-covered backyard. Micah was disappointed to find it bare, with just a couple trees that one couldn't even climb as she looked around.

Dean gently hit the ball on the bottom to knock it out of her hands and caught it himself and walked a little ways towards the center before turning around to face Micah, dropping it onto the ground. He then kicked it softly back to her. "Come on, Mic, kick it to me," Dean cheered her on.

Micah had jumped when Dean had knocked the ball out of her hands and wondered why he had done that. She looked down at the ball and remembered kicking a ball around with her grandmother once. For an elderly person, her grandmother was still pretty active and could keep up with a four-year-old.

A smile appeared out of the blue which caught Dean off guard but in a good way and smiled as he watched Micah run a little and kick the ball towards him, soaring passed him. Dean had to run to get it and turned behind the ball to kick it back. Micah ran towards where the ball was rolling towards her and gave a good kick someone her size could. They kept that up until Jo came out to let Dean know dinner was ready.

Dean left the ball where he was going to kick it and walked over to Micah. He wanted to run up to her but figured he would scare her. When he was close enough, he scooped Micah up into his arms, sideways and planted a series of kisses on her left cheek as he walked towards the steps. Dean carried her up the steps onto the deck, surprised and happy she was actually giggling a little. It was a silent giggle but Dean would take what he could get.

Jo held the door open as Dean carried Micah inside and set her down on her feet. Dean pulled a tan-colored, wooden chair out beside his seat at the head of the table, in front of the back door, offering it to Micah. Micah sat down, scooting towards the back of the chair. Dean pushed her closer to the table.

Jo had gone back over to the kitchen and made Micah a plate, placing a small slice of lasagna and a small helping of salad on it. She grabbed a bottle of ranch from the white, vertical fridge and took it over to pour over the salad, returning it to the fridge afterwards. Grabbing a fork from the silverware drawer between the stove and the fridge, Jo carried it over and set it on the table, in front of Micah. "Would you like some milk, Micah?" she asked her.

Micah nodded.

The brothers had started serving themselves while Jo poured a cup of milk for Micah before she made her own plate sitting on Dean's other side. Sam sat next to Jo as well. Micah held the fork by the bottom of the handle, digging it into the lasagna as the back of her fingers had meat sauce smeared against them.

"Is it good?" Dean asked her with a smile.

Micah nodded again, this time at Dean and took another bite.

"So Micah, how old are you?" Jo asked, trying to start a friendly conversation with Micah.

Micah looked up at Jo and held up five fingers with her left hand.

"Five, huh," she replied, slicing a piece of lasagna with the side of her own fork. "Are you in kindergarten?"

Micah just shrugged.

"Were you going to school?" Sam asked, curious.

She shook her head this time.

"Do you know when your birthday is?" Jo asked.

Again, Micah shook her head.

Jo looked over at Dean, "We have to find a way to get her birth certificate and social security card, Dean. Otherwise, we can't enroll her in school."

Dean sliced off a bite of his lasagna and held it up to his mouth. "I know, Jo. Sam and I will figure out how to get it," he assured her.

"Do you think Micah was born in the same town she was living?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "I don't have a clue but we can start from there. I will make some calls in the morning and find out." He put his fork down and reached over to grab a slice of garlic bread, offering Micah one as well.

Micah took it and bit into the garlic bread, keeping it in her left hand while she finished eating her lasagna and salad.

"Did Micah automatically open up to you, Dean?" Jo changed the subject.

"Not at first, it took a while before she crawled over to me back at her house. She still finches or cries when I move a certain way or when she thinks I'm gonna hit her," he explained.

"What did the house look like?" she asked.

"Like a freakin' crack addict lived there. Thinking about it now, that place definitely wasn't somewhere a kid should live."

They finished dinner and Dean offered to wash the dishes since Jo cooked. He basically tried to fit everything into the dishwasher so he wouldn't have to wash any by hand. Micah clung to his side the whole time, holding her zebra and pony to her. She squeezed it tight when Sam walked into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge, watching the giant carefully.

It was dark outside now, after seven O'clock. Once Dean had filled up the dishwasher, he grabbed the soap from under the sink and poured some into the small slot, closing the lid before setting the soap back under the sink and closed the dishwasher, turning it on. He washed what couldn't fit, placing the dishes in the drying rack beside the sink and wiped down the stove and countertops. Sam couldn't help laugh where he was sitting at the kitchen table on his laptop.

"What's so funny?" Dean asked.

He shrugged, "Just the fact that you are cleaning the kitchen."

Dean shot his younger brother a death glare. "Shut up, dude," he said, continuing to clean the kitchen. Once the kitchen was clean, he turned his attention to Micah. "We don't really have any toys here. Not yet anyway." Dean thought for a minute and shrugged, "Want to learn pool?"

Micah stared at him, confused what he meant.

"Here, I'll show ya." Dean had Micah follow him to what should have been the dining room where he had a pool table instead, turning on the chandelier-like light above it. Walking over to the large, three-paned window, he emptied a milk crate of random stuff and took it over to set it upside down at the end of the pool table and started gathering all the balls, placing them inside the triangle before removing it, setting it on top of a radio that was behind him on a small, round table. He held his hand out for Micah to take, "Hop on up here, Mic," he told her.

Micah took a hold of his hand and let him help her stand on the milk crate. Dean grabbed a pool stick from the corner of the room and stood behind Micah to show her how to hold it, positioning her hands in the correct position.

"The object of the game is to get the balls into each hole," he explained. "Okay?"

Micah nodded up at him.

Dean helped her line the shot up and hit the white ball into the other ones. The different colored balls scattered everywhere as they were knocked into each other but none of them went in.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Dean walked around part of the pool table, trying to figure out a good hit. Spotting one, he lined up his shot and hit the white ball against one of the others, thus knocking one into a hole. "If a ball goes in, you keep going until nothing makes it in. But for this game, I will cut ya a break and let you take another turn now."

Dean looked for a really good move Micah could do that would get at least one ball in a hole. When he found one, Dean lifted Micah off the milk crate to move it to that spot, making sure it's where she could hit it and placed her back on top. Doing the same as before, he helped position the stick and line up the shot. This time two balls had gone into two completely different holes which Dean wasn't expecting.

"All right, awesome job, Mic," he praised, excited. "You knocked in two balls." Dean held up his right hand, "Give me five."

Micah flinched back when she saw his hand raised and shook her head as tears started filling her eyes.

Dean realized how she was interpreting his high-five and explained to Micah what a high-five was. He kneeled to her level, "That was a great job you did. I'm proud of you." Dean smiled at the little girl and earned another small smile but no teeth showing yet.

The two of them played for an hour before Dean told her it was time for bed. There was one thing Dean had forgotten to buy at Target and that was Micah's own pajamas. He took her up the stairs that started in front of the front door across from the dining room and into one of the spare bedrooms, turning on the light after grabbing one of his shirts from his room first.

Sitting on the bed, Dean helped remove her clothes and pulled his shirt on over her head, holding it so Micah could put her arms through the sleeves and pulled it down. He lifted her onto his left leg to put fresh socks on her feet before leading her to the hall bathroom.

There were three bedrooms total and two bathrooms, one being the master bath. All the rooms were all carpet except for the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and the walkway from the front door to the living room/kitchen. Those were tile. Dean had liked the extra rooms for anyone that stayed with them for a short time while Jo liked having them in hopes of having kids of their own.

Once Micah's teeth were brushed and her face was washed, she returned to the bedroom and climbed into the twin bed, under the brown comforter and lied down.

Dean kneeled beside the bed, "How do you like your new home?" he asked. "You like it?"

Micah nodded.

He smiled at that, "Glad to hear that. This will be your bedroom too so maybe we can decorate it the way you want. We can see if they have bed stuff and posters of that cartoon you like, how's that?"

She shrugged.

Dean stood up to lean over and kiss her head before grabbing the remote from the nightstand and turned on the TV that was across the room, turning it on. "You can watch a little bit of TV while you fall asleep," he explained, looking through the channel guide. When he found the Nick Jr. channel Dean selected it, changing the channel to _Wonder Pets_ and set the timer on the TV to shut off when the cartoon was over.

He then leaned over to give her one last kiss and let her hug his neck, good night. "Good night, Micah," he told her and stood up straight to leave, setting the remote on the TV stand in front of the TV.

Right as he placed his hand on the light switch to turn off the ceiling fan light, he heard Micah say, "Good night, Daddy." His hand froze on the switch as he stared over at the little girl in surprise. Hearing Micah call him daddy brought tears to his eyes as his heart seemed to melt.

Dean walked back over which Micah thought she had said something wrong and started scooting backwards towards the wall. But instead he wrapped her in a tight hug and held her for a couple minutes.

Micah looked up and was surprised herself to see him crying. She had never seen a man cry and thought they weren't able to. Her father never cried and neither did any of his friends that came through their house a lot, sometimes spending the night.

Eventually, Dean did finally leave the room so Micah could fall sleep, turning the light off and leaving the door open before heading back downstairs to the living room where Sam and Jo were watching _Deal or No Deal_, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

"Ooh, what I miss?" he asked when Dean saw what they were watching.

Jo filled him in on what had happened so far. On the next offer from the banker, all three of them kept shouting at the TV not to take the deal. Sam sat over in the white, leather arm chair while Dean and Jo sat on the matching couch. The woman on the TV still did not take the deal and the game continued for another half an hour.

The news came on as Dean stood up to grab another beer. "Another beer, Sammy?" he asked when he stopped in front of his chair.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Thanks," Sam replied.

Dean walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Micah in bed?" Jo called over to him.

"Yeah, I let her watch a half hour of TV while she falls asleep. The timer I set should have shut off by now," he called back. Dean grabbed three beers and brought them back over, handing one to Sam before sitting back down to hand Jo one and leaned back, crossing his legs over the other at the ankles. Jo laid her head on his right shoulder as they watched the news.

Dean reached for the remote to change it when something caught his attention. The news caster was talking about how Micah's parents were found dead in their home but that wasn't what caught his attention.

_"Authorities are still looking for five-year-old Micah Walcott and have spoken to Ivory Finch, Micah's aunt." _The news then cut away to a field reporter standing outside Micah's old house who was holding a microphone up to a woman who looked to be in her late thirties with dark blond hair and wore a black skirt and a sky blue blouse. She was four foot nine and was a little bit heavyset.

_"My sister had always had an addiction to drugs," _the woman, Ivory was saying into the microphone. _"Cora didn't even stop when she was pregnant with her daughter. She didn't even attend our mother's funeral last year. I tried to tell her she needed to stop, at least for her baby's sake but," _she shrugged, _"she wouldn't listen. I'm surprised that kid survived this long. I'm hoping she's still alive. And I'm hoping the police can find my niece so I can take her home."_

Dean sat there, straight up, his mouth gaping open a little.

Sam and Jo looked over at him, sadly. "Dean, there's your chance," Sam told his brother. "Contact the police and tell them Micah's here."

Dean felt like he wanted to cry again but held it in. He had become so attached to Micah already, and on top of that, she had called him daddy for the first time tonight. That meant she felt the same way. His hand tightened around his bottle of beer he held on his right leg.

"Dean, I know how much you love Micah already but it seems like she still has family out there who seem to care about her," Jo told him.

Dean stared at the floor. He looked over at the woman he loved, "If she cares so much for Micah, why didn't she do anything before? How could this woman just let Micah live through all that? Why didn't she report or try and take Micah in herself?"

Jo shrugged, "Maybe she was scared."

"Well, whatever. She ain't getting Micah." With that, Dean stood up, setting his beer down on the square end table in between the couch and the arm chair, and stormed out of the room. He headed back upstairs to check on Micah who was tossing and turning in her sleep. Dean went in and climbed into bed with her. "Shh, shh," he said. "It's okay, Micah."

"No," Micah whimpered in her sleep. "I be good girl. Please no."

Dean continued to calm her down. "Micah, I know you're a good girl. Everything's okay, I promise." He brushed the front of her hair back, brushing his hand along her forehead and started humming one of his favorite songs to help calm her down.

Micah eventually woke up and got scared when she realized someone was lying right beside her. Dean assured her it was just him and she lied back down to snuggle against his chest. He held his left arm around her and both of them fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Answered Prayers

Chapter 5

Micah ran and hid in her closet, shuffling back into a corner as her little heart beat fast inside her chest and hugged her knees. She could hear her father angrily yelling throughout the house, slurring his words in a harsh manner.

"Where are you, little girl?" he yelled. "You know what you did. Now get your little ass out here before I pound it harder!"

It was pitch black in the closet but she could hear every word perfectly, as well as hear her father stumble a few steps. Micah's grandmother used to tell her to pray when she was scared and so Micah did, pleading for God to send an angel to protect her.

Her father's heavy footsteps drew closer and sounded like he had stopped in her bedroom doorway. "Where are you, Micah? You can't hide from me, I will find you."

Micah's heart skipped a beat and tried to push herself further into the corner. She felt relieved when she heard him leave the room but could still hear his harsh voice.

"You're only making it worse, you know!"

She closed her eyes and prayed with all her heart as tears fell from her eyes, clutching her stuffed zebra to her. Micah wanted her grandmother back so much and was confused why God had taken her. She wanted so badly for someone to come take her away, and pleaded with her aunt Ivory to do something. She wouldn't do a thing for her niece and just told Micah to not cause trouble and her father wouldn't have to punish her. Ivory would then hug Micah, or try to but Micah would push her aunt away in hurt.

Now as Micah sat there, scared out of her mind and still hurting from that morning's beating, hoping and praying her father wouldn't find her. But there was rarely a time when he didn't and this time was no different.

Forty-five minutes later, the door was yanked open, slamming against the wall. Micah, who had dozed off, woke with a start and stared up at her father. She tried to back further into the corner, shaking her head as she pleaded with him. They fell onto deaf ears as he grabbed his daughter up and dragged her out of the closet.

"You want to hide from me, do ya?" he snarled at her, viciously. "We'll just see about that." Micah's father shoved her to the floor and chugged the last of his beer before tossing it against the wall. The bottle shattered upon impact, falling to the floor in several pieces.

Her father then removed his belt and folded it in half. "I'll teach you for hiding from me, you little shit." He then grabbed her upper, left arm and swung his belt at Micah, leather connecting with back, arms, and bottom as Micah cried out.

Micah could barely stay standing but every time her knees buckled underneath her, her father would yank her back up. "I be good girl! I be good! No more, Daddy! Please!" she cried out, pleading with the tall, skinny man.

"You're never gonna be a good girl. You've been bad since the day you were born!" he told her, loudly and brought the belt down again, making Micah holler in extreme pain. Her pale skin was already turning a bright shade of red all over and welts were forming. Micah tried to pull her arm out of her father's grip but that only made his hand tighten, bruising it as well and continued. Micah's cries grew louder.

Suddenly, she woke up in bed, crying out for the whole world to hear. Dean was already awake, sitting up as well. She flinched at his touch and jumped off the bed to dash and hide in the closet, backing herself into a corner.

Not long after, the door slowly opened and Micah hugged herself in a tight ball as Dean's shadow hovered over her. He kneeled down to her level.

"Hey, Micah, it's just me. You're safe, remember? You don't have to be afraid, I'm here to protect you," he reminded her.

Micah stole a look up at him and saw it was indeed Dean. She scurried to her feet and jumped on him, knocking Dean backwards and squeezed his neck. Dean caught himself with one hand, holding the other wrapped around her.

He pushed himself into an upright, sitting position and wrapped the arm he was leaning on, around Micah too. "Shh, shh," Dean tried to comfort the little girl as she cried into his shoulder. "It's okay, Mic, it's okay." He rubbed her back up and down. "No one's gonna hurt you anymore. I will protect you, I promise."

Her grip tightened with every breath of air Micah took and did not want to let go. The bedroom door opened and Jo poked her head in.

"Everything all right, Dean?" she asked, worried about the little girl.

Dean looked over at Jo and looked forward, at the floor again. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, everything's fine. Micah had a nightmare."

Jo's heart broke as she watched the little girl death grip Dean's poor neck. She wasn't sure of what to say or what to do but wandered in anyway, sitting down on her legs to rub Micah's back too.

Micah tensed at the new touch which Jo noticed and moved around Dean so she could face the little girl, combing her fingers through Micah's hair. Micah looked up, opening her eyes towards the woman.

"I promise I'm not gonna hurt you, sweetheart," Jo assured her. "I'm sorry you had a bad dream. They're no fun, huh?"

Micah sniffed, not releasing her grip as she studied Jo carefully.

"You know what I do when I have a bad dream?"

She shook her head, slowly.

"I think of the funniest thing I could think of. Like…." Jo paused to think of something really funny that would make Micah at least giggle a little. "Like a pig on roller skates dancing around. Is that funny?"

But Micah didn't utter a sound, not even a chuckle.

Dean asked, "How about if I do this?" and he clawed his right hand to tickle Micah on the opposite side of her rib cage, trying to help too. When the ribs didn't work, Dean tried other places, tickling Micah all over her back and even under her armpits and the back of her knees but no chuckle came. He and Jo exchanged looks of concern how a young, five-year-old kid could not utter one tiny laugh.

After some time, Dean just laid his head against hers and rubbed Micah's back to help calm her nerves, eventually moving under the shirt, being careful of the bruises that were still healing.

"Want me to leave you both alone?" Jo asked after five minutes, feeling as if she wasn't needed.

"For now," Dean admitted. He wished Jo could be a part of this but it was going to take some time before Micah warmed up to her too.

Jo nodded. She stood up and left the room, leaving the two of them alone once again.

"Jo only wants to help, kiddo," Dean spoke after Jo had left. "But I know it took a couple days before you called me dad. We care about you and neither of us will let anything happen to you. Your real dad is gone he can't ever hurt you again. Did your mom hurt you too?"

Micah nodded on his shoulder.

"Yeah, well she can't anymore either. Jo and I, we can be your mom and dad if you want but that's up to you. We're a package deal though. If you want me as your dad Jo will be your mom too. Is that okay?"

Micah didn't answer right away. She stared over to her left, at the white wall under the wooden-framed window, thinking. She always wanted a mother too. Hers never showed any affection towards her or even said I love you. From as long as Micah could remember, she drew pictures for her mother for Mother's Day, her birthday, Christmas, and even just some random day, just to win her mother's love but the pictures were always either turned into an ashtray or paper for her mother to use to make her drugs, and instead of hugs, she got slapped across the face.

Eventually, Micah lifted her head from Dean's shoulder and tried to look into his green eyes but quickly looked down again and muttered, "I want a mommy and daddy."

Dean couldn't hear or understand what she had uttered. "What was that, kiddo?" he asked, softly.

The last word Dean spoken made Micah look up. She hadn't really noticed it the first time but she remembered her grandmother used to call her kiddo too. There were so many similarities already between Dean and her grandmother it was amazing and Micah wondered if Dean had ever known her grandmother.

She moved forward towards his left ear and repeated what she had muttered before.

Dean smiled, "So you're okay with Jo being your mom?"

Micah shrugged, she just wanted parents and hoped he and Jo were the ones. That is, if they don't turn on her. "Was it okay to call you daddy?" she finally uttered, softly near his ear again.

"Yeah, it was awesome, Mic. It really made my day to hear you call me that." Dean shook his head, "I'm not mad at all."

"I a bad girl?"

"No, you're not a bad girl. We all make mistakes, it just means we're human," he assured her.

"You never be mad at me?" she continued to ask.

"Nothing in the world could ever make me be mad at you, kiddo, I promise." At that, Dean kissed Micah on the forehead and hugged her close to him. "I just realized I have not given you the grand tour yet. Come on," he smiled at her before the two of them stood up and Dean let her take ahold of his hand while he took Micah around the house to show where everything was, ending in the kitchen where Jo had a surprise for the little girl.

"I figured after a big, scary bad dream one could use some chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and syrup for breakfast. What do you think?" Jo smiled at her, sweetly.

Micah looked up at the woman and nodded her head. Not even Micah could resist chocolate chip pancakes and the three of them sat down at the table to eat.

None of them were sure what Sam was doing or if he was even awake yet. Dean tried to knock on his bedroom door but there was no answer.

After breakfast, the three of them went outside to the backyard to kick the ball around. It was girls against guys. Micah played shyly at first but once they got into it and Dean started letting her steal the ball now and then, she started having a little fun.

Sam had finally came out of his room but stayed inside the house, watching the little family through the backdoors as he searched online how they could help Micah as he sipped on a cup of coffee.

Dean and Micah was shuffling the ball, trying to take it from each other. Dean was impressed how good of a soccer player she was and made a mental note to get her on a pee wee soccer team when he could. When Micah managed to kick the ball from the man, she started kicking it towards the goal they established.

"Go, Micah!" Jo cheered for the little girl as she continued to run towards the goal with Dean following close behind. Soon, when Micah was close enough, she kicked the ball in between two good sized rocks which bounced off the fence. Jo clapped and cheered as she hurried over to Micah as Dean scooped her up into his arms.

He planted a huge kiss on Micah's cheek. "You beat me," he praised, proudly. "You're already beating your dad."

Micah smiled a little at that and hugged his neck. Jo was standing beside them now.

"Awesome job, kiddo," she praised Micah as well, proudly.

Micah looked between Dean and Jo. This is what she had always wanted, parents who could be proud of her and praise her for things she did instead of a scolding. This was the best day Micah had ever had and never wanted this moment to end.

"We've been out here for a while, Micah should get some water in her before she gets dehydrated," Jo suggested, interrupting Micah's thoughts.

Dean placed Micah back on her feet glad she was feeling better from that morning and headed inside the house. Jo grabbed three cups from one of the top cupboards and filled them up with ice cubes before filling them with cool water, giving Micah the first cup.

"Don't drink too fast or you will feel sick, okay. Drink it down slowly," she told the little girl as Jo filled a cup for Dean next.

Micah nodded at the woman and took a drink.

Sam leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, rubbing the back of his head. "Dean, I've been thinking about you wanting to keep Micah and raise her. But I did some research and keeping Micah from her aunt and not letting anyone know, regardless of your intentions, is kidnap."

Dean took a swig of water and looked over at his brother. "How is that kidnap? Her parents were dead, no one else was around. We took her in."

"But by law, we are supposed to contact the police for further action in case Micah had family that would come looking for her. If they find out you're keeping her and not doing anything, they could arrest you, Dean." Sam shrugged, "Who knows, maybe this Ivory Finch will see how much you care about Micah and let you keep her."

"Sam has a point, Dean," Jo agreed. "She seems really nice on TV. If we explain what we can to her, without giving away the demon part, maybe Ivory will hand custody over to us."

Dean looked over at her surprised she was still taking Sam's place. "And what if all of that was an act?" he asked of them both. "What if we come clean and hand Micah over to her? What if two days later, we find Micah's bo…" He shook his head once. "No, we're not going to the police. I am not taking any chances."

"Dean…" Jo stopped and took a deep breath. "Why don't we ask Micah? She knows her aunt, possibly."

He stared at the floor before eventually pulling out a chair from the table and called Micah over. Micah walked over, slowly, still holding her cup of water in both hands. Dean held her upper arms, gently, rubbing both his thumbs across them. "Do you remember having an aunt named Ivory, Mic?" he asked her.

Micah nodded up at him.

Dean glanced over at Jo and Sam before turning back to Micah. "Did she ever hurt you?"

Micah shook her head.

He shut his eyes at that. Deep down, Dean was hoping her aunt did just so he could have an excuse not to take Micah to her.

"I don't want Aunt Ivory," she shook her head.

Dean opened his eyes to stare at the little girl, his heart breaking at her words and looked at the floor. "You both heard that, right?"

"If you don't make the call, Dean, I will," Sam told him.

Dean suddenly stood up from his chair to glare at his brother. Micah stepped back, afraid. "What the hell is with you, man?" he demanded. "I swear, ever since you pulled me back into the job you've been like this. Why make the kid go somewhere she doesn't want to be."

"Dean, it's not always what the kid wants. They go with what's best for them." Sam being pre law knew a little about child custody laws.

Micah looked between the brothers. Was she going to be sent away to live with her aunt? Micah hated her aunt so much. She had tried pleading for help so many times and her aunt had even been at the house and watched a few beatings herself, just turning her head away like it wasn't even happening. Micah had cried out to her but nothing was done.

Tears filled Micah's eyes at the possibly of living with the woman. Suddenly, she felt her legs sprint from the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom, throwing herself onto her bed and cried into her pillow. Dean had told her several times he would protect her but it seemed to her like he was going to give in to Sam.

She wanted a father. She wanted a mother. She wanted Dean and after the fun they just had, possibly Jo. Micah squeezed the pillow in her hands as she cried into it. Eventually, Dean wandered into the room.

"What's wrong, Mic?" he asked, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Micah did not respond or lift her head but felt his hand touch her back. Out of habit, she still tensed up from it but did not run to the closet, this time. She did flinch, looking back at him.

Dean quickly pulled his hand back. "What's wrong?" he repeated, concerned.

Micah breathed in and out, heavily as tears continued to fall.

"Take it easy, Mic. Deep breaths," he told her, reaching over to touch her leg and showed her what he meant too.

Micah copied him and took deep breaths before he repeated his question for a third time. "I don't want to go wive at Aunt Ivory's house," she sniffled. "She mean too. She don't save me from my oter daddy."

Dean looked at her, sadly, his heart breaking again. He moved over against the wall and held his hands out to Micah. She got up onto her hands and knees and crawled over to sit beside him which he pulled her onto his lap, removing her jacket for her and laid it on his other side, taking her into his arms.

"If we talked to your aunt, do you think she would let you live with us?" he asked her, curious.

Micah shrugged, looking up with her head against his chest.

Dean looked away, leaning his head back against the wall. Micah snuggled into his chest. Both of them were scared about what would happen and not one of them wanted her to leave. It had been a different week for them like they hadn't experienced before. Dean was torn on what to do: take a chance and contact Micah's aunt or keep quiet and risk the possibly of keeping Micah if the police found her on their own. Red flags would surely come up if they registered Micah for school but they couldn't deprive her of an education. On the other hand, what if Micah's aunt kept her and something happened? Dean would never forgive himself.

This was surely a dilemma.


	6. Chapter 6

Answered Prayers

Chapter 6

The discussion continued over to dinner that night as Sam tried to push Dean some more into calling the police. Sam wasn't sure why he was doing this when it meant so much to his brother and had tried to show some sympathy for the little girl but he just didn't feeling anything. He just did what he thought was right, regardless of anyone's feelings. Sam just didn't feel anything.

Meanwhile, while the brothers went back and forth and as Dean tried to end it, Micah was listening. Being a kid, she was really taking to heart some of the stuff being said that she understood and perceived Dean's reactions that he was giving in. Dean ran his hand down his face a few times and sighed at his brother's words. Really, he was just frustrated but Micah only knew frustration from anger and rage.

Micah ate half her food before she started playing with her meatballs, rolling them around her plate. Jo tried to ask what was wrong but Micah didn't hear her. Dean gently nudged her arm, making her jump, and nodded towards Jo.

Jo repeated her question, "Something wrong, sweetheart?"

Micah just looked back at her before staring at her food again.

"Are you full?" Dean asked her. "Are you not hungry anymore? You don't have to eat the meatballs if you don't want to. You ate most of your noodles and all of your green beans."

She continued rolling a meatball around. Soon, she felt Dean's touch on her back, rubbing it up and down. Micah flinched at first but relaxed after a few seconds.

After dinner, Jo assured Dean she would get Micah ready for bed, giving her a bath first. Dean had decided to let Micah have his shirt since it felt comfortable to her and since they kept the heater on during the night, figured there was no harm in letting her continue to wear it to bed, at least until they bought Micah a pair of pajamas.

Dean came up to kiss her good-night though and turned on the TV, making sure the timer was set. Micah lied there in bed while the cartoon played until she eventually dozed off. Even at a young age, she had taught herself to wake up at a certain point, as long as she wasn't stuck in a nightmare. Micah knew when her real father came home and when to be on high alert.

When she woke up, the house was dark and quiet. Pushing back the comforter, Micah slid out of bed and went over to the dresser across the room, pulling open the drawer. Pulling out a pair of jeans, she slid them on. It took a few minutes to fasten her jeans, trying to get the button in the hole but when she did, Micah zipped the zipper up and used all the drawers as a step ladder to reach the top one where her socks was.

Once her shoes and jacket was on, Micah grabbed her zebra and poked her head out to look around the upstairs hallway. When she thought the coast was clear, she snuck to the stairs and carefully made her way down, not noticing the light coming from under Sam's door. Making her way downstairs, Micah held her breath as she tried to reach up for the doorknob. The doorknob was too high for her.

Micah looked around the front of the house and saw the milk crate from before, moved underneath the pool table. She went over and picked it up. The milk crate was a little heavy for her but Micah managed to carry it over to the front door and stepped up to unlock it. Stepping down and moving the box, Micah sidestepped out and closed it right before she smashed her hand in the door and started walking.

Not sure where she was or where she was going, Micah just walked down the street, squeezing her zebra tight. She didn't want to leave Dean and Jo, but she also did not want to go live with her aunt. Micah was confused and terrified so much she wasn't sure what to do, she just thought running away was the answer.

After walking a while, Micah was now shivering uncontrollably from the cold and regretted leaving now. No one seemed to be around and hardly any cars drove by. When they did, Micah would hide behind a parked car in a driveway or bush in someone's front yard until the car was gone.

As she walked, Micah wondered if Dean or Jo had noticed she was gone, or if they were still sleeping. Dean had gone to bed in his own bed with Jo that time so it made it easy for Micah to slip out. She also couldn't help wonder what Dean would do to her if he realized she was gone. Would he look for her, or even care? If he did find her, what would he do? Micah figured he would be really upset and could turn into her real father and beat her. Micah swallowed hard at the thought and tried not to think about it, but she couldn't help think of Dean hurting her the way her real father did.

Walking by an empty park, Micah stopped and noticed a playground, longing to go play on it. It was engulfed with light surrounding it. Looking around, Micah stepped onto the wet grass and started towards it not noticing a shadow sitting over on a picnic table. It watched her walk over and climb up the steps of the slide and slid down the swirled one a few times.

After ten minutes, the shadow walked over and called out to her when Micah was climbing the steps again. She jumped out of her skin when she heard it and turned on the spot to look at the shadow. It was a grown man and he smelled like he hadn't showered in days and his face was covered in hair from lack of shaving.

Micah stepped back as a wave of fear came over her. The man didn't say anything but he stepped towards her. Micah held her breath before turning to run as fast as her little legs could carry her. The man didn't follow but she was too scared to look back and check, eventually leaving the park. Not watching her feet, Micah tripped and fell off the sidewalk and into the street right as a patrol car was driving by. Luckily the street was lit up like the playground was and the police officer driving saw someone fall in time and slammed on his breaks.

The police officer jumped out and hurried around to the front of the car to see Micah huddled in a ball, shaking from fright. He hurried over and kneeled beside her, touching her left shoulder, gently which Micah tensed up.

"It's okay, little one, I won't hurt you," the police officer assured the little girl. "Where do you live? I can take you home."

Micah jumped to her feet when she heard the police officer speak and backed away from him.

"I won't hurt you, I swear. I want to help. Do you know your address?"

Micah's chest moved, rapidly as she stared back at the cop, not saying a word. She bit her lip, starting to suck on it.

"What's your name, honey?" the cop continued to ask. Micah still did not answer so he tried to make up a game to guess her name. "Is it Natalie?"

She shook her head, shyly.

"How about Katie?"

Micah continued to shake her head as the cop guessed some names until he decided to tell her his name first.

"If I tell you my name first, would you tell me yours?"

Micah kept silent.

"My name is Hank," he told her. "I'm a police officer so you don't have to be afraid. Do you know what a police officer is? Did your mom and dad teach you who we are?"

Micah tried to think if she knew what a police officer was. She remembered hearing that word in one of the cartoons she watched but wasn't sure if they were nice or not. This police officer seemed nice but after seeing the guy from the park, Micah was still afraid.

"It's cold and late, you should be at home," he interrupted her thoughts. "I want to help you, I really do." But she still wouldn't budge so the cop stood up to lead her over to his car and helped her in the backseat, trying to remain gentle with her as not to scare the little girl. Micah wasn't sure about it but he seemed to be acting the way Dean had acted towards her when they met.

The police officer drove her to the station where he led her inside and over to a chair to wait while he spoke with someone. Micah held her zebra to her in a tight squeeze, sniffing in the freshness of the material. Jo had washed it earlier that day and ran it through the dryer when she noticed it smelled and looked dirty, tossing it in with the load she was washing. Micah liked the smell of the fabric softener she used and used it to help calm her nerves.

It seemed like forever by the time the police officer returned and tried again to get Micah to tell him her name and address, using a piece of candy this time. Micah remembered at that point that Sam had been talking about the police, trying to get Dean to call them and once that clicked on in her mind, Micah definitely did not open her mouth.

Jody Mills walked out of her office and over to them. She studied Micah like she seemed familiar and hurried back into her office to look up something on her computer. "Hank," she called out to the police officer.

The police officer, Hank looked over in the direction of Jody's office, "Yes, ma'am?"

"I need to show you this. I think I know who this kid is. How she got this far, I have no idea," she called back.

Hank stood up, handing Micah the candy anyway and headed into the office where Jody showed him a missing child record, showing a picture of Micah. "She does look like this child. So you think she's Micah Walcott from Colorado?"

Jody shrugged, standing up straight. "It's a dead ringer and the notes said she would be carrying a stuffed zebra most likely. Get Child Watch on the phone and let them know so they can contact the aunt."

Hank nodded as he left the office, heading over to his desk while Jody walked over to Micah, kneeling to her level. "Hello, Micah," Jody smiled at the little girl.

Micah looked up at that, her eyes wide. Her heart skipped a beat. How did she know? Was she going to send her to her aunt? Micah tried to stand to dash for the door but Jody quickly grabbed her.

"It's okay, Micah," she tried to assure her, her motherly instincts kicking in. "Everything will be fine. We'll get a hold of your aunt and you will be home safe, I promise."

Micah shook her head at the sheriff as tears built up in her eyes.

Jody looked at her, confused. "Don't you want to see your aunt?" she asked. "I bet she misses you." But Micah continued to shake her head. Now she really wished she had just stayed at Dean and Jo's house.

Over the next few hours, Jody tried to keep Micah from running away. Every time she turned her back, she would try and slip away. Micah did manage but it wasn't outside she ran, it was into a closet she saw was open and hid there, curled up into a ball.

She blew it. Instead of being with her angel, Micah was going to be with the woman who wouldn't even help her when she asked for it. How could Ivory care about her now when she didn't before? Micah wanted Dean so badly at that point that she started to cry silently for him and prayed for God to bring him there.

Sitting in the dark, quiet closet, Micah eventually fell asleep and slept for a few hours until she felt someone lift her up. Hoping it was Dean, Micah opened her eyes and to her disappointment saw it was her aunt and jerked out of her arms.

"It's okay, Micah. We're going home to my house, okay? Your mom and dad are gone," Ivory told her. Micah pushed her aunt away. "I don't have time for this, Micah. We have a plane to catch," she told her, sternly.

Micah tried to back up into the corner, shaking her head. "I want Daddy," she muttered for only Ivory to hear.

Ivory looked surprised to hear that come from the little girl's mouth. "You…want… Daddy's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

"My new daddy," Micah told her aunt.

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "I'm sorry, you're new daddy? What do you mean, Micah?"

"My angel, he saved me from Mommy and Daddy."

"Was he the one who hurt them?" Ivory asked.

"Daddy hurt Mommy and he hurt Daddy," Micah explained as best as she could, quietly still. "He took me to his home and say he would be my daddy. He say he would protect me but Sam tell him to tell the police about me."

"Who's Sam?"

"A mean giant but my angel protect me from him and yell at him when Sam scare me. My new daddy say he wouldn't wet stuff happen to me. He better than you," Micah glared at her aunt at the last part.

Ivory sighed, annoyed and told her niece, "You don't understand. I didn't like seeing you hurt but I couldn't do anything about it. I told you not do anything for your daddy to punish you."

"But I didn't do anyting," she tried to protest.

"I'm not arguing with you, Micah. We will talk about this later when we get home." Ivory stood up from where she was kneeled and tried to take ahold of her niece's hand. Micah made to pull away from her reach until Ivory threatened to spank her and she complied, going with her, reluctantly. The two of them were led from the station out to where a cab was waiting to take them to the airport.

Micah sat in the backseat behind the driver, staring out the window, yearning for Dean even more. Her real father's voice echoed in her head. She was a bad girl after all. Micah ran away and lost her chance to possibly have a mother and father who loved her, dearly and would be proud to have her as a daughter. As the cab pulled away from the curb, tears ran down her face as she hugged her zebra close to her.

"It will be okay, Micah," her aunt assured. "You will be safe with me too and I'm glad that man rescued you from there. If you wanted to stay there, why did you leave?"

She looked over at her aunt and said, "I bad," before turning back to the window. Ivory wasn't sure what Micah meant by that and left her alone until they pulled up the airport.

Around eight in the morning, Jo poke her head inside Micah's room to see if she was awake and saw she wasn't even there. She checked in the bathroom but no one was in there either and checked downstairs. Not finding the little girl anywhere in the house, Jo rushed back to hers and Dean's room and shook Dean awake.

"Dean! Dean, wake up," she told him.

Dean lifted his head, looking back at her, groggily. "What?" he asked.

"Micah's gone."

That instantly fully woke the man up. "What do you mean 'gone?'"

"She's gone. I went to see if she was awake and she wasn't in her bed. I looked all over the house. I can't find her," Jo explained in a panicked state.

Dean sat up, placing his bare feet on the floor. "Did you check her closet? Micah hides there when she's scared."

Jo shook her head.

Dean leaped up and dashed to Micah's room. "Micah? You in here?" He walked over to the closet and opened it to check inside. It was empty. Dean's worry escalated fast and checked every square inch of the house himself. "Micah, where are you?" he called, panicking now. Dean even checked Sam's room even when he knew she would never go in there as terrified she was of Sam.

Sam was taken by surprise when his brother burst into his room and started scavenging around as he sat up in bed. "Dean, what the hell?" he demanded.

"Micah's missing," was all Dean said as he continued looking around the room, checking the closet as well.

"Why would she be in here?" Sam asked, annoyed with his brother.

"I don't know, Sam. I'm just searching everywhere," he spat back. When Dean was sure Micah wasn't in there, he left the room and went to check outside. He tripped over the milk crate Micah had left near the door when he stepped off the bottom stair, crashing to the floor. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed. "Who the hell left this here?"

Jo came running from the kitchen where she had been checking outside in the backyard and helped Dean to his feet. She happened to glance over to see the front door was open a crack and alerted Dean of it, nodding over to show him.

Dean yanked it open and dashed out the front door, turning his head every which way. "Micah!" he called, his heart beating faster with each passing second. "Micah, you out here? You won't be in trouble, I promise!"

The only answer he got was a dog barking two doors down from a backyard. Worry was all over the man's face as he grabbed at his hair. He hurried back inside and called for Micah again, assuring she wasn't in trouble. No answer.

Grabbing his keys its hook and wallet from the desk underneath, in the kitchen, Dean dashed outside and slid into the Impala to go looking for Micah. He drove around the neighborhood at a slow speed so he could keep an eye out for the little girl easily, eventually stopping at a park. Dean noticed a man sitting in the sand at the playground and jumped out to ask if he had seen Micah.

"Hey you," he got the man's attention. It was the same man who had scared Micah the night before. "Have you seen a little girl about five years old?" Dean held his right hand out to show Micah's height, "She's about this tall, blond hair, blue-green eyes but mostly blue. Probably holding a zebra."

"What cha got on you?" the man hiccupped.

Dean rolled his eyes and yanked out his wallet, opening it up to pull out all the cash he had on him, counting it quickly in his head. "I have fifty-six dollars but first thing's first. Have you seen her or not?"

"Yeah, last night. She bolted when I got near her and a cop picked her up."

Dean's eyes widened at that. "Oh God," he muttered and tossed the money at the man as he dashed back to the Impala and quickly started the engine before pulling away from the curb, heading for the police station next. He hoped they hadn't recognized or knew that was the Micah Walcott they were looking for, but chances were they did. Every police station in the country had to have record of her. Dean would have yelled at the man for approaching her if his mind wasn't on finding Micah.

Dean drove as fast as the speed limit would allow, going over just a tad before he pulled up to the police station, taking a cab's spot when it drove away and dashed inside, up to the main desk.

"Excuse me," he said, trying to get someone's attention.

Jody walked out of her office to stand on the other side, "Dean? What are you doing here?"

"Was a little girl brought here, last night?" Dean asked her, trying to keep his anxiety down. "She would be holding a zebra, probably."

"Is her name Micah?" she asked.

"Yes, yes. Where is she?"

"She just left with her aunt," Jody pointed at the door. "Why, what's going on?"

It suddenly hit Dean of the cab and dashed back outside to see it gone. "No, no, no, no, no," he muttered. This couldn't be happening. How could this be happening? Thinking fast, Dean dashed back to the Impala and slid inside, heading for the airport next.


	7. Chapter 7

Answered Prayers

Chapter 7

Dean was racing as fast as he could to the airport, gripping the steering wheel tight, so tight his knuckles were turning white. He couldn't believe he let this happen. Why did Micah leave in the first place? Dean remembered seeing her dresser drawers open so she would have dressed herself. But why? He could have sworn Micah liked it there, why would she just up and run away?

Then he remembered the night before at dinner and how spacey and sad Micah looked to him. Something was going on in the little girl's mind she did not want to talk about and wondered if it had something to do with her previous life. Or it could have been Sam that did it. Micah did seem fine when they sat down to dinner until the guy opened his mouth about calling the police and alerting her aunt. Whatever the cause, Dean had to find his new little girl and fast.

A cargo train's whistle brought Dean out of his thoughts and made him slam on his brakes, skidding to a stop just before he hit the black and white flag. "Come on," Dean groaned, trying to look down the slow-moving train to see how long it was.

While he waited for the train to pass, his cell phone he kept hidden inside the glove compartment rang. Dean may have grabbed his keys and wallet but left his main cell phone on his nightstand charging. He reached over and yanked the glove compartment open before reaching into it, under a bunch of stuff before finding the phone and looked at the screen to see Jo was calling.

Dean flipped it open and pressed talk before putting the cell phone to his ear. "Hey, Jo," he said.

"Hey, Dean. How's the search going?" she asked, half curious, half worried. "Did you find her?"

"No," Dean sighed. "Not yet. I'm on my way to the airport, right now."

"Airport?"

"The cops picked Micah up, last night and must have recognized her. Micah's aunt picked her up right before I got there. In fact the cab was pulling away while I was pulling up," he explained. Jo was silent and Dean knew she was trying hard not to cry. "You okay?"

She took a deep breath before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine. Look, maybe it's for the best Micah goes with her aunt. I mean, that is her family, maybe even the only family she has left."

Dean was staring ahead, his right foot rearing to place its weight on the gas petal as he gripped the steering wheel. "No," he shook his head, "I'm not giving up on Micah. What if this ain't what's best for her, Jo? What if something happens that I could have prevented? I can't let that happen."

"Dean, honey, what if it's all in your head. Yeah, you think like that but you have to think positively too. What if Micah's life does work out for the better? What if her aunt can give her something we can't? I mean, were you gonna give up hunting for her, or were you gonna do the same thing our fathers put us through? I remember it, Dean. I remember my dad leaving for a hunt, how scared and upset I was that he was leaving. I wouldn't want my own daughter to experience that. Would you?"

Dean let out a breath of air. He had been still turning hunting over in his head, whether or not he should continue or stop. Jo was right, if he was going to be a father to this little girl, he had to stop hunting. "Fine," he told Jo.

"What?" she asked.

"When I find Micah and bring her home, I am retiring from being a hunter. No more fighting monsters, no more, sleazy motel rooms and diner food. I'll take my job back at the garage and stay home with you and Micah, living an apple pie life."

"What about Sam?"

Dean shrugged, "If he wants to keep hunting, fine by me but I'm out. Besides, that's what he made me promise over a year ago before we tossed Lucifer back into his box."

"Sounds great, honey," Jo said. "I hope you get Micah back."

"Oh, trust me, I'm gonna get her back, all right." Both he and Jo ended their phone conversation when the train finally passed and once the flag was up, Dean stepped on the gas petal and continued on for the airport.

Micah was waiting in line, holding onto her aunt's hands, holding her zebra in her right arm. She looked around the crowded airport hoping she would spot Dean. Micah glanced up at her aunt a few times to see her looking ahead.

After waiting there in line for five minutes, Micah felt the urge to go and patted her aunt's arm.

Ivory looked down to acknowledge her, "Yes, Micah?"

"I have to go," she replied.

"Well, you're gonna have to hold it until we get on the plane. I'm not gonna lose our spot in line after waiting this long and almost through with it." Ivory looked ahead again.

Micah looked at her aunt, sadly and looked at the ground. She remembered Dean taking the blame for her accident and telling her he should have stopped sooner so Micah could use the restroom. "What if I can't?" she asked, looking back up at her again.

"Then you will be in big trouble. You're five years old, Micah, you can hold it." Ivory didn't even look at her niece, this time.

"Daddy tell me I wasn't in twouble," Micah pointed out.

Ivory rolled her eyes. "Well I'm not him, now am I," she said.

Micah gave up and looked away, hoping the feeling would go away. Another ten minutes passed as the line moved slowly and the urge did not leave, making Micah hold her legs together and tried again. "I really have to go, Aunt Ivory."

"And I said you have to wait," she repeated.

"But I need to go really bad," Micah softly whined.

"We're almost through, I promise. Just hold on for a little bit longer, sweetheart."

Another five minutes passed and Micah was still desperately trying to hold it in. It was no easy task for a little kid to do either and soon she was crossing her left leg over the other. Micah was so happy when they were the next ones but wasn't too happy when they had to do the same thing as the people ahead of them when her aunt told her to take off her shoes.

"I can't," Micah tried to tell her.

"Yes, you can," Ivory said as she removed her own shoes. "Come on, Micah. Let's go."

Micah stared up at her aunt with a sad, puppy dog look.

"Micah, I mean it. Let's go. You're holding everyone up," she told the little girl, sternly.

Micah tried to sit down on the ground without uncrossing her legs and undid the velco straps before pulling off her tennis shoes. It seemed easy enough. That is, until Micah had to stand back up and found she couldn't, not with her legs crossed anyway.

Ivory was starting to lose her patience. "Micah Isaiah, get up now," she scolded.

Micah stared up at her aunt, terrified, her yearnings for Dean at record height now as tears filled her eyes. When she didn't stand up, Ivory reached down and grabbed ahold of Micah's left arm to yank her to her feet. The second Micah's legs uncrossed her bladder was released and she could not hold it any longer. Micah tried to stop but once one gets going it's hard to.

Ivory was not pleased to say the least. "Micah Isaiah, are you serious?"

"I sorry, Aunt Ivory. I tried to hold it," Micah tried to tell her.

Ivory ripped off Micah's jacket and tied it around her waist before guiding Micah through the scanner before she went through. Once they were through, Micah sat back down on the ground and put her shoes on again.

"You're gonna have to be in those wet clothes for the remainder of the trip because I don't have any clothes for you," Ivory explained as she took ahold of Micah's hand again and walked over to stand in another line, leading down a hallway.

As they reached the ticket taker, Micah could have sworn she heard someone call out her name and realized it belonged to Dean. She scanned the packed crowd in the airport for any sign of him but could not point Dean out. Wanting Dean so badly by this point, Micah made to break free from her aunt at a run but Ivory refused to let go.

"Knock it off, Micah," Ivory scolded her once more. "If you need to go again, you can go on the plane."

"But Daddy is calling me," she tried to tell her aunt.

"I don't hear anything but the crowd, now let's go." Ivory tugged Micah forward and showed the woman at the gate their tickets.

Micah started tearing up again. She wasn't sure what came over her but at the top of her lungs that she could muster, Micah yelled, "Daddy!"

Once the tickets were presented, Ivory gave one mighty tug and dragged Micah down the hallway and outside to board the plane, making her drop her stuffed zebra. They were one of the last ones too because once the person behind them boarded, the flight crew took away the steps and closed the latch.

Dean had finally pulled up to the airport and jumped out of the Impala, dashing inside. He looked around the airport, barely catching his breath. "Micah!" he called out at the crowd. His chest was rapidly moving in and out and it felt like his heart was beating in his ears. "Micah!"

He hurried through the crowd, trying his best not to run into people but was no easy task when one was speed walking through a large crowd of people. Dean kept his eyes open for any sign of the little girl. After ten minutes of searching the airport and calling out to Micah, he heard someone scream out, daddy. Not sure if it was Micah or not, he followed it anyway, apologizing as he pushed around everyone.

"Micah!" he called out again but didn't hear a response. Dean continued through the crowd until he finally made it through to one of the flight gates and saw they were closing. Hurrying over he asked the woman standing there if she seen Micah and her aunt, describing Micah for the third or fourth time that morning.

"Yes, they just boarded the plane," she explained to Dean.

"Can you stop the plane?" he asked her.

"No, I'm sorry, sir, I don't have authority to do…Sir you can't go down there without a ticket!"

Dean had sprinted down the hallway and out to where the plane was preparing for take-off. "No, no, no, no." Dean watched helplessly as it started moving. "This cannot be happening." He grabbed at his hair again as the plane got further away and soon lifted off the ground.

Dashing back inside the airport, he almost stumbled but caught himself. Looking down to see what he had stepped on, Dean saw it was Micah's stuffed zebra. Dean grabbed it up, staring at it for a long time before making his way back through the terminal and out to the Impala where he slid back in, starting the engine. He wasn't about to give in, not yet. Dean pulled away from the curb and headed home to pack a bag.

Micah sat in a seat by the window with her aunt sitting right next to her. She couldn't help wonder if that really had been Dean or if she had only hoped it was, or if there had been a voice calling her to begin with. If it was, Micah was really glad Dean knew where to find her if only he had been able to catch up and wished she had fought harder against her aunt's grip on her, or stepped on her foot, or something then maybe she would have had a chance. Of course, they probably wouldn't be in this situation if Micah had just stayed there and not left the house in the first place and kept beating herself up over it.

"What has gotten into you, Micah?" Ivory started to lecture the little girl. "First you wet yourself, then you fight me, and now you're screaming like a crazy person? I'm beginning to see why your father had to punish you so much."

"I don't want to go home with you, I want Daddy," Micah tried again to plead with her aunt to let her stay with Dean and Jo.

"I don't know where that man who took you in, is, Micah so you're gonna have to stay with me."

"Daddy was there, he say my name," Micah said.

"How would he know where to find you?" she asked.

Micah shrugged, "I don't know."

"It was probably someone else, Micah. Why don't you take a nap until we get to Colorado?" Ivory then placed a pair of earphones in her ears and turned on an iPod, scrolling through her playlist of songs.

Micah looked away to look out the window as a tear rolled down her cheek. Not only did she lose Dean, she lost her favorite and only toy as well and wished she had kept a better grip on the thing. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was a little tired and soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

Dean drove all the way home, parking on the street and hurried up the front yard, unlocking the door to head inside. Heading up the stairs, he went to his bedroom and quickly changed into his regular clothes. He hadn't realized he had been in pajamas this whole time, his mind mainly on finding Micah. He wasn't even wearing shoes either, just socks.

Once he was fully dressed, Dean pulled out his green duffel bag from under the bed and started shoving clothes inside as Jo walked into the room.

"Dean? Where are you going now?" she asked him.

"Back to Colorado." Dean didn't even look up at her.

Jo was silent, knowing by the man's response that he didn't get there on time and noticed the toy on the bed, beside his duffel bag. "How did you get ahold of Micah's toy?" she finally asked. "I never saw it in her room, this morning."

"Micah must have dropped it," he shrugged and zipped the duffel bag closed, throwing it over his shoulder. Dean grabbed the toy and gave Jo a kiss good-bye. "I'll be back just as soon as I have Micah back."

Jo followed after him, not even bothering to argue Dean out of it. She knew his mind was made up by this point and realized just how much Micah meant to him. Heck, Jo even wanted Micah back. Micah hadn't called her mom yet but it would have happened eventually.

Dean made his way towards the stairs where Sam was coming from his own room.

"Hey, Dean, glad to see you're back. Samuel says there may be a vampire nest a few states away," Sam told his brother but Dean just told him to shut it that all that mattered was finding Micah, making his way downstairs. Sam followed after him. "Dean, it's for the best for Micah to be with her aunt. You're a hunter, remember?"

But Dean wouldn't have any of it and headed back outside, sliding into the Impala once more. Jo came out to see him off and watched as he drove off in the direction of Colorado. He wasn't sure where to go but figured he would worry about that once he got there.


	8. Chapter 8

Answered Prayers

Chapter 8

Once they had pulled up to the apartment complex where Ivory lived, a nice-looking property with well-trimmed grass, a good-sized pool, a couple tennis courts, and a clubhouse, she paid the cab driver and led Micah to her apartment, climbing a flight of stairs and went inside.

First thing, Ivory did was take her niece to the bathroom and had her strip off her soiled clothes and take a bath. "Why are you wearing a man's shirt?" she asked once Micah had her jacket off.

"Daddy wet me sweep in it," Micah replied.

"Well, I have some of your clothes here, including a pair of pajamas so we can throw this away," Ivory helped Micah out of the shirt.

Micah shook her head, "No, no throw away. Daddy say I can keep it."

"Sweetheart, you're a little girl. You cannot keep a man's shirt," she told her.

Micah grabbed for the shirt, ripping it out of her aunt's hand and hugged it to her, staring at Ivory with sad eyes. Ivory just shook her head and gave in, telling Micah she had to wash it, at least since it reeked of urine.

After her bath, Ivory made the both of them lunch while Micah watched cartoons. As the day progressed, Micah still missed Dean and wished he was there. Dean was the first man ever to show her any kindness, having lived a sheltered life. She didn't really meet that many people in the five years she's been alive, her mother's father died when she was only fifteen and there wasn't any uncles in the family. It was only Micah's mother, aunt, and grandmother until Micah's father came into the picture. Cora had met him when she was twenty-four when she was just drinking and smoking cigarettes, it was Micah's father who had introduced her to the more heavy stuff and moved in with him a few weeks later when Cora had a fight with her mother and they eloped together. A year later, Micah was born.

Micah's first year was spent in and out of the hospital, recovering from her own drug addiction since Cora didn't stop while she was pregnant, not even after she learned she was. Custody of Micah was granted to her grandmother at first. Micah lived with her until she was three and a half but that was when her grandmother learned she had cancer and spent the next year trying to fight it with chemotherapy and surgeries, eventually losing the battle and Cora was re-given custody somehow. That was when the abuse started, same day Micah moved back with her parents.

Micah had met her parents many times before when her grandmother would bring over food or clothes she thought Cora needed, and would try and climb into her mother or father's laps but would get shoved to the ground. The only reason Micah went to live with her parents was because of Ivory. Custody was granted to her but Ivory was finishing up college and thought raising her niece was too much of a hassle at the time so she dropped Micah off at her sister's house not expecting any consequences to come from it. To this day, she regretted making that decision.

Waking up the next morning, Micah had come down with a case of the flu from being outside in the cold the night before with a fever. So Ivory let her stay in bed and watch cartoons in the extra bedroom, having Micah only come out to eat or use the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Dean had drove the whole way, getting into Colorado late into the night at the speed he was going and started his search first thing the next morning, asking around town if anyone knew Ivory Finch. It was a fairly small town, surely he was bound to run into a close friend or relative but nope, Dean came up empty.

He didn't give up and kept asking, driving around hoping to find something. Dean couldn't even stop to eat, or grab a drink, which was saying something.

"What is this woman?" Dean asked himself, out loud as he walked out of another establishment. "A hermit?" He walked over to where he parked the Impala and leaned on the roof, on his forearms. His options were running low and Dean had no idea what else to do and decided to call Jo to check in, sliding into the driver's seat. "Hey, Jo. No, I haven't found her yet."

"How big's the town?" she asked.

"Not that big at all. Surely someone has to know who Ivory Finch is, but so far, no one does. I don't know what else to do. I'm starting to think maybe you and Sam are right, maybe this wasn't meant to be. Maybe I should quit and come home." Dean slumped back in his seat, staring down at the steering wheel.

"Dean, you made it this far, you can't quit now," Jo told him.

"But you said…"

"Forget what I said, Dean. Forget what Sam said, the guy hasn't even been himself since you two found each other. Sam took off not long after you left yesterday for that vampire hunt."

"He did?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Hey, have you tried praying to Cas? Maybe he can help find Micah," Jo realized.

A light clicked on in Dean's brain. Through everything that had happened the last week with finding Micah and losing her, he had forgotten about Castiel. "Jo," he grinned, "did I ever tell you you're a genius, and how much I love you."

"What would you do without me, right?" she grinned too.

"I'd probably go insane. I'll call ya later."

"Love ya," Jo said before they hung up.

Dean continued to stare at the steering wheel. "Cas, are you listening? I need your help, man, desperately. Please, Cas, if you can hear me, get your ass here." He looked around the car and out the windows until he heard someone greet him and Dean jumped slightly out of his skin. "Cas, thank God. Can you help me find someone?"

"Can they help us against Raphael?" Castiel asked in his deep, serious voice.

"Uh, probably not, Micah's only five," he said.

"Why do you need to find a child?" Castiel was now confused so Dean gave him the rundown of what had happened the past week, trying to give the angel the shortest version but still keeping the main points. "I am still trying to understand human qualities. How can an adult inflict extreme pain on a child?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't know, man. Monsters I get but people are a completely different story. So can you help me?"

"I can try, yes," he nodded.

Dean grabbed Micah's zebra from the seat beside him and held it out to the angel, "This is hers," he explained. Castiel held his hand up and touched the stuffed animal, closing his eyes, seeing the apartment complex sign and inside one of them.

Micah was lying in bed, watching cartoons still when her aunt called her for lunch. She slid out of bed and slowly made her way towards the small kitchen where she sat down at the table. Ivory set a bowl of canned chicken noodle soup on the table, in front of her.

"Careful, it's hot, Micah," she told the little girl.

Micah laid her head down on her folded arms while she waited for the soup to cool. A cold, eerily feeling came over Micah, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked over at the living room and saw the same black smoke she saw that night her parents died, sneak in through a crack at the bottom of the window.

The black smoke drifted through the living room and into the kitchen where Micah saw it shoot into her aunt's mouth. Micah grew afraid as her chest moved rapidly. Ivory's eyes then flashed to black and smiled evilly at the little girl who rose from her seat and started backing away, biting her lower lip.

"Now, now, little one," Ivory said in a chilling voice. "No need to be afraid." She walked towards her. Micah suddenly bolted from the spot and ran back into her room, hiding inside the closet and started praying.

"I need my angel again. Pwease, God, I scared," she prayed silently so her aunt wouldn't find her. However, her bubble was burst when the white, plain door literally was ripped off its hinges. Micah jumped out of her skin and her heart beat the fastest it's ever been, not expecting that at all. Sure her father yanked her closet door open several times, but he never ripped it off like it was paper. Ivory stepped inside and grabbed Micah, dragging her out.

Castiel opened his eyes and looked at Dean. "I found her," he said.

Dean's spirits were lifted at that and anxiously asked, "Really? Where?"

"Palm View Apartments, number 314. But she's not alone, a demon is there with her," Castiel explained.

The moment he heard a demon was with Micah, Dean faced forward and quickly started the engine, shoving it into drive before turning out of the parking lot and drove as fast as he could until he found the right apartments and parked, jumping out to dig his gun, the late Ruby's knife, and a flask of holy water out of the trunk and started looking for Ivory's apartment.

Dean hurried through the complex, turning his head every which way before spotting it and dashed up the stairs. Checking the door first which was locked, he kicked it open and Micah's screams landed painfully on his ears. Dean made no haste to run back to the bedrooms and checked both of them before finding Micah's.

"Get away from her!" he roared out, pulling out the knife and pointed it at Ivory who turned her head to look back at him, her eyes black again. Suddenly, the black smoke shot out of Ivory's mouth and down into the air vent near the floor, making her body go limp and dropped.

Dean quickly dashed to Micah's side, dropping the knife on the floor next to him and scooped her up into his arms. "Micah, you gotta wake up. Come on, please, wake up," he begged, his voice cracking. "Wake up, Micah."

Castiel was standing over his friend, staring at the sight of the little girl, spotting new and old bruises all over her arms and her face. He reached down and placed two fingers on Micah's forehead, healing every single bruise. "She's going to be fine. Micah had the flu as well but I took care of that too."

Dean looked up at the angel, "Thanks so much, Cas. I definitely owe ya." A small voice got his attention, "Daddy?" He looked back down at the little girl to see her eyes open. "Yeah, it's me, Mic. It's gonna be okay, I promise. You're safe now," Dean brought her up and hugged Micah to him in a tight embrace.

"I a bad girl, Daddy," she said from his shoulder.

"No, Mic," he said, rubbing the back of her head, "you're not a bad girl."

"I run away."

"That doesn't make you a bad girl. You were scared, right?"

Micah nodded on his shoulder.

"I promise you're not a bad girl and you're not in any trouble but please don't ever do that again. You scared the crap out of me, Mic. I thought I lost you."

"Wike I wost Max?" she asked, wanting to cry at the thought of losing her best friend.

Dean smiled at that and lifted her off his shoulder to look at Micah, "Don't worry, I found Max, he's safe too. In fact, Max is waiting in the car for you."

Micah's eyes widened at the sound of that. "Max okay?"

He nodded, "Max kept me company on the drive here. Man, can that zebra talk your ear off." Dean grinned at that.

"You say Chinese?" she asked, surprised.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Max only say Chinese wike Kai-Wan," Micah explained very serious.

"Oh, well, I taught him English so now he can say both," Dean nodded.

Castiel was confused, "How can a toy speak?"

Dean dropped his head. "Use your imagination, Cas."

The angel didn't know how to respond. Micah was now staring up at the trench-coated, tall, blue-eyed angel, hesitantly. Dean noticed too.

"Don't be afraid of Cas, he's harmless. This is a friend of mine," he explained to her. "Cas is the one who helped me find you." Dean still sensed Micah wasn't sure about the angel so he came out and told her what Castiel was.

Micah's eyes widened again. "A angel?" she asked. "Wike you?"

Dean shook his head, "No, I'm human, remember? I know I've saved you a couple times already but I'm no angel, I can promise you that. Cas is the real angel." He noticed the disappointed look on her face and told her, "but if you want me to be your angel, you can call me that if you want. I don't mind."

Micah wrapped her small arms around Dean's neck and hugged him, finally noticing her aunt on the floor behind where Dean was kneeled. Ivory was beginning to stir which got everyone else's attention.

Ivory sat up, holding her head. "What happened?" she asked no one in particular.

"You were possessed by a demon," Castiel told her, flat out.

"Boy, Cas, don't hold anything back from her," Dean said, standing up and lifted Micah up onto his side. He turned to Ivory and held out his right hand to her to help her up. Ivory accepted the offer, thanking him.

"Who are you?" she asked next and noticed Dean was holding Micah. "Give me my niece."

"Woah, hold on there. I'm Dean and this is Cas. I'm the one who saved Micah from her home and saved you both just now," he told her.

"What he said, was that true?"

"I'm afraid so," Dean said.

"But I'm a Baptist, I've been baptized and protected by God," she tried to argue.

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter. Unless you're protected by one of these," Dean pulled down the collar of his shirt to show Ivory a tattoo of a symbol, "or wearing a charm, demons can get up in ya."

Ivory folded her arms, "Who do you think you are? Van Helsing?"

"This is my new daddy," Micah spoke up. She shut her mouth when Micah realized she had interrupted an adult's conversation. Dean felt her tense up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Ivory smiled at the scene, not expecting her niece to accept something like that. "So you're the famous superman I've heard so much about since I picked her up. Micah's been asking for you and told me a lot about you too."

Dean smiled at the little girl, "Oh, she did, huh?" and kissed Micah again before turning back to the woman. "I want to ask you if my fiancée and I could have guardianship of Micah. Even though I've only known her for a week, we've become really close and I would really like to be her dad." He looked at Micah again. "The other night when she called me daddy for the first time, a feeling washed over me and I knew I wanted Micah a part of my family." Dean looked back at Ivory, "Please?"

Ivory looked over at her niece, "Micah, is this what you really want? It's up to you, sweetheart."

Micah nodded, "I want to be with Mommy and Daddy."

Dean's heart skipped a beat when he heard Micah call Jo, mommy and wished she had been there to hear it. He hugged Micah close to him and kissed her head. Ivory left the room, heading to her bedroom and returned with a folder, opening it up.

"These are Micah's important documents like her birth certificate and social security card, and medical records, including her shot record. She's a little over a year behind on her yearly shots, my mother being the one who kept that stuff up-to-date. I was going to take her next week but I'm sure you can," she explained.

He nodded, looking at the papers in her hands. "Her full name is Micah Isaiah Walcott?" Dean asked her when he noticed Micah's full name on the birth certificate.

"My mother picked out her first and middle names and feel a child should always have the father's last name."

Dean scoffed, "Yeah, like the bastard deserved it."

Ivory agreed, "I know but my mom insisted on it. She really did love Micah, probably the most out of all of us. Don't get me wrong, I love my niece but Micah had always worshipped that woman and was so heartbroken the day she died."

"Where was she buried, maybe we can go pay our respects to her," he offered.

"I had her cremated," Ivory told him as she closed the folder and handed it over. Dean took it and thanked her before turning back to Micah.

"Come on," he smiled, "let's get you dressed so we can head home. Your mom's worried about you too." Dean set Micah down on her bare feet and looked around the room for her clothes, spotting the plastic drawers next to the TV.

While Dean helped Micah get dressed, kicking Castiel out, Ivory packed a suitcase with the rest of her clothes and some of the toys Micah had there from when she stayed the weekend away from her biological parents. Once they were ready, Ivory walked them out to where Dean had parked the Impala and set the suitcase inside the trunk when he had it open. Dean suggested Micah give her aunt a hug good-bye and told Ivory they would keep in touch on how Micah was doing, giving her his cell phone number.

Dean walked over to the driver's side and opened his car door. "Come on, Mic," he called back to the little girl, "let's go home."

Micah finished the hug with her aunt and hurried over to climb into the front seat. Dean thanked Ivory one last time before sliding inside as well and closed his door. He started the engine and drove from the parking lot. Micah stood up on her knees to look back at her aunt and waved good-bye. She was a little sad to leave her but was happy to be with her angel once more and sat flat on her bottom again.

"Hungry?" Dean asked her.

She nodded.

"Great, 'cause I'm starving," and flashed Micah a smile which she returned before noticing her toy on the seat between them and snatched him up to squeeze him tightly in her arms. Dean reached over and ran his fingers through her hair, "told ya he was here waiting for ya."

Micah looked up at the man and threw herself over to him to hug Dean around the middle. "I wove you, Daddy," she told him.

He held his right arm around her, glancing between Micah and the road and smiled once more, "I love you too, Mic."


	9. Chapter 9

Answered Prayers

Chapter 9

Jo had hurried outside when Dean pulled into the driveway. Dean stepped out and kissed her before walking over to the other side to lift a sleeping child out. Dean had called home the night before to let Jo know he had Micah and that they were officially her parents. Well, not legally, technically but parents none the less. Spending the night at a motel, Dean headed home first thing in the morning, stopping only to eat or restroom breaks. It was a long drive but Dean managed to keep Micah entertained by playing road games he had made up when he and Sam were kids to keep him occupied. Dean was slowly trying to get Micah out of her shell and open up more.

Dean shifted Micah to his right side, careful to not wake her and closed the car door. He carried her inside and up the stairs to her bedroom. Jo had followed and Dean had her help him remove her jacket before laying Micah down on the bed. He then removed her shoes and covered her up with the comforter and kissed the side of her forehead. Once his duffel bag and Micah's suitcase was brought in, Dean and Jo went to bed since he was exhausted. He had barely slept since he drove back to Colorado and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

That was around one or two in the morning. Four hours later, Micah was tossing and turning in her sleep, whimpering. More images of her real father and mother flashed through her mind as she promised to be a good girl if they'd stopped. Her pleas were unresponsive and the abuse continued until Micah sat up in bed, crying out. She looked around the pitch black bedroom and realized where she was. Climbing out of bed, Micah made her way to the door and looked out into the dark hallway, looking both ways before making her way to where Dean had showed her was his bedroom and went over to the foot of his and Jo's bed.

Micah placed her zebra on the bed and grasped the comforter in both hands and pulled herself up, swinging her right leg up when it could reach. Once up there, she crawled over in between where Dean and Jo were fast asleep. Dean, being a light sleeper felt the extra weight and instinctively reached under his pillow he was hugging to him and gripped the gun he kept there. The feeling relaxed once Micah had lied down on her stomach and snuggled up against him. Dean opened his eyes and lifted his head to look in her direction.

"What ya doing out of bed for?" he asked in a gentle voice, pulling his arm out of Micah's arms to wrap it around her, holding her opposite shoulder. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Micah nodded which Dean could barely make out in the dark.

"It's okay. It was only a bad dream." Dean pulled her in to hug Micah and kissed the side of her head. "You want to sleep with me and Mommy for the rest of the night?"

Micah nodded against him.

Dean laid his head back down on his pillow and rubbed Micah's back until they both fell asleep again. Micah slept peacefully for the rest of the night until she woke up automatically when she heard the shower running in the master bathroom. She lifted her head and sat up onto her hands and knees before crawling backwards from underneath Dean's arm. Micah sat back onto her legs and rubbed at her left eye, repeatedly.

A few minutes later, the water shut off and not long after that, Jo came out dressed. "Morning, sweetheart," she greeted the little girl. "Sleep okay, last night?"

Micah shook her head up at the woman, "I had a bad dweam."

Jo had walked over and sat down on her side of the bed, sideways, facing the headboard. "Bad dream, huh? Did you try what I taught you about thinking of something funny?" she asked.

She shook her head, staring down at the bed.

"That's okay, daddies are good at chasing the bad dreams away anyway," Jo tried cheering Micah up, wrapping her right arm around her.

Micah looked up at Jo. "Daddy is bwavest I ever sawed."

Jo smiled, "Yeah, you think so?"

She nodded and smiled as well.

"Why don't we let Daddy sleep some more and have some breakfast. What do you say?"

Micah nodded once more and crawled over in front of Jo to slide down on her stomach before the girls headed downstairs to the kitchen. Dean had told Jo already what Micah had called her and couldn't be more than happy to hear the little girl was already thinking of Jo as a mother. She also wished she could have been there and couldn't wait for Micah to say it to her but wasn't going to have Micah just say it. Jo wanted it to come out naturally so she kept quiet and waited patiently.

Dean slept all morning, giving the girls time alone to bond. After breakfast, Micah wanted to kick the ball around again in the backyard so the two of them headed outside. To Jo, Micah really seemed like she really loved soccer as she watched the little girl get really into the game. They played for a little over an hour before heading back inside for some water.

When they were cooled down, Micah showed Jo the toys from her aunt's house. First she showed Jo her two Barbie dolls that were sitting inside a pink convertible, driving the toy car around the floor of her room.

"Are they going to the mall?" Jo smiled as she watched Micah.

Micah stopped to shake her head at Jo. "They have to keep dwiving or the monster will get them," she explained.

"What kind of monster?" she asked.

"The big, mean monster that hurts tem."

Jo frowned, her heart breaking. She understood what monster Micah was referring to. When a kid grows up abused, it can show up in play and affect the way they think. "Maybe Max can protect them from the monster," she suggested, holding the zebra in her right hand.

"Max is scared of the monster too," Micah told her.

Jo nodded in understanding.

After ten minutes, Micah stopped playing with her dolls and car to stand up and head back over to where her suitcase was. Since Jo had put the clothes away, showing Micah how to fold them and where they go, it was easier to get to the toys. Micah looked inside and picked up a _Thomas the Tank Engine _train set and took the lid off the box before dumping everything out onto the floor. She then got to work putting the tracks together. Jo was impressed how it coming out. Micah didn't just place the tracks in the usual circle train sets were in, she made them go in other directions in a disfigured circle.

Once the tracks were set up, Micah turned on all three of her trains and set them on there so they could move around freely. She watched them, proud of her work and looked over to Jo, hoping she would be proud too.

"That looks awesome, Micah," Jo complimented, still impressed. "Good job, kiddo."

She smiled at that, sitting in the center of the tracks.

"I bet if you had some more train tracks you could make it go all around your room."

Micah thought about it, watching her Percy toy train and nodded in agreement at Jo.

Jo stood up and offered to help Micah to her feet which she took the offer and stood up too. "Let's go see if we can find some more." Micah grabbed her zebra as she followed her downstairs. Jo grabbed her keys and wallet from the kitchen, heading for the garage from there, holding the door for Micah before walking over to the driver's side of her white car. She opened the car door so Micah could climb into the backseat. "You need help with your seatbelt, Micah?"

Micah reached up and pulled down the seatbelt, pulling it over her chest to click inside the slot beside her.

Jo smiled. "Good job," she praised and sat down in her own seat and put her seatbelt on, stopping long enough to reach up and press the button on the garage door remote on the sun visor. Micah jumped at the sudden loud noise of the door raising until Jo assured her what it was. When the garage door was all the way up, Jo backed out, making sure not to hit the Impala, closing it when she was out. Once out of the driveway, they were off. "You like any music, Micah?" she asked, looking at Micah through the rearview mirror.

"Granma always played music about God," Micah replied.

"You want that?"

She nodded.

Jo switched on the car radio and surfed through the stations, looking for a hint of music that sounded like Christian music. It wasn't one of the ones she had preset or even listened to herself so it took some time before she was able to find one as she focused between the radio and the road. Luckily, the station was playing a song Micah liked and blurted out for her to stop.

Micah covered her mouth at once afterwards, removing her hand enough to ask, shyly, "I in twouble for yelling?"

"No, sweetheart, you're fine. Can you hear it?" Jo told her in the mirror.

She nodded and stared out her window to sing along softly. Except for the music, the car ride was quiet for the most part until Jo pulled into a parking lot and parked, shutting off the engine and the two of them removed their seatbelts.

Jo stepped out first and opened Micah's door so she could slide out. "Do you know where we are?" Jo asked as Micah slid off the seat, leaving her zebra.

Micah moved so Jo could close the door and looked up to shake her head.

Jo smiled kindly at her and held out her hand for Micah to take and started to cross the parking lot up to one of the stores. Micah looked ahead at the large colorful letters above the door. They didn't seem familiar to her but once they were inside, her eyes widened at a kid's dream come true. There were shelves stocked with toys. She had never seen so many before.

Jo saw the look on the little girl's face and realized she probably never seen a toy store before. "Come on, let's see if we can find the train tracks you have," she broke Micah from her thoughts.

Micah nodded and continued to hold Jo's hand as they made their way through the store, looking down each aisle. Eventually, they walked by an associate who asked if they needed any help. Jo told him they were looking for the _Thomas the Tank Engine _train tracks and he pointed them in the right direction. Jo thanked the associate and headed for the aisle.

On the way, her cell phone rang. Jo took it out of her jacket pocket and saw it was Dean calling. "I see you're finally awake," she smirked.

"Where are you?" he asked, sounding like he had been panicking.

"Relax, Dean, we went to the store," Jo assured him. "We'll be home in a little bit."

"Why didn't you wake me up or left a note?"

She sighed. Dean always worried about her when Jo was out of his sight and now that they had Micah, it probably had doubled. "I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't think of it when we were leaving. We'll be all right, I promise."

Dean tried to relax as he looked through the fridge for something to eat. "Are you grocery shopping 'cause I can't find anything to eat."

"I just went shopping a few days ago. The fridge is fully stocked, trust me," Jo told him, rolling her eyes.

"I don't see eggs in here," he said.

She let out an annoyed breath of air. "Look behind the milk."

Dean pushed the half empty jug of milk over to the side and found the carton of eggs. "Oh, never mind," he smiled and then dropped it. "But seriously, be careful. Okay?"

"We will, honey. I promise. Love you."

"Love you too," he replied, taking the eggs out and closed the fridge door with his foot before they both hung up.

When Jo and Micah found the right aisle, they looked around for the plastic train tracks Micah had and took them up to the checkout area so Jo could pay for it. On the drive home, Micah held the box on her lap, looking at the pictures. Before she knew it, they were home and headed inside through the garage door in the kitchen where Dean was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Micah hurried over to show Dean what they had gotten at the toy store, excited.

Dean removed his feet from the coffee table. "What did you get, Mic?" he asked, excited for the little girl. Micah showed him the train tracks. "Wow, what is it?" Dean took the box and looked it over.

"Twain twacks," she told him and took the box back before dashing upstairs to her bedroom and closed the door to get to work, taking apart her old ones first. For the next hour or so, Micah looked diligently, building the most awesome railroad she could think of, using as much space her room would allow. She had it go under her bed and in every direction.

When all the tracks she could use were gone, Micah connected them to where she started and pulled out a clear, soft plastic carrying case of Legos from her suitcase and zipped it open to dump out the colorful pieces. Micah started building houses and other buildings scattered around the train tracks as Thomas and his friends moved around by themselves.

She looked up when there was a gentle knock on the door and jumped up to rush to the door to squeeze outside where Jo was standing.

"Lunch is ready, sweetheart," she told her.

Micah nodded and shut her door. She hurried downstairs and sat at the table next to where Dean was sitting and started eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"What were you doing up there?" Dean asked her, curious.

"Making a surpwise," Micah replied. "You can't see until I done."

Dean grinned, "Oh I can't, huh? Okay. I can't wait to see it."

"Me too," Jo smiled in agreement as she sat down across from Micah.

Micah lit up at how excited they were. No one, except for her grandmother, ever got excited for Micah's many projects she worked hard on and definitely couldn't wait until she was finished, herself.

After she finished her lunch and drank the last of her milk, Micah dashed back upstairs to her bedroom and continued working on an overhead pass she had been building when Jo had come to get her for lunch. As she worked, she eventually removed her shoes and jacket she had been still wearing. The floor of her room was now looking like a countryside town. To add the finishing touch, Micah went over to her bed and reached over to grab her _My Little Pony _toy Dean had gotten her when he bought that kid's meal that first night and placed it on the floor before deciding to build a wall around it with the last of the Legos.

Standing in the center of the room, Micah admired her work. This may have been her best work she had ever built and was quite proud of it, wondering if Dean and Jo would be proud too. Unable to contain her excitement, she dashed over to the door, leaping over part of the train tracks and hurried down the stairs to the living room where Dean and Jo was sitting at the kitchen table still, looking over Micah's documents they received from her aunt.

Micah ran over to stop beside Dean and pulled on his arm.

"Are you ready for us to see the surprise now?" he asked.

Micah nodded, continuing to pull on his arm. Dean allowed her to pull him to his feet and over to the stairs where she turned around and dashed back up the stairs, stopping to check and make sure he and Jo were still following.

Upstairs, Micah ran over and opened her door all the way, letting Dean and Jo inside. They stood just inside the doorway in total shock at the amazing set-up the kid had done with the train trains. Dean's jaw had basically hit the floor.

"You made this, Mic?" he asked, scanning around the room with his eyes.

Micah nodded at him.

"This is amazing, sweetheart," Jo praised the little girl as she too scanned the room, noticing the houses. Both of them were blown away from the sight. Micah seemed behind for her age with her speech but seeing the way she could build was as if she was ten or eleven.

Once the shock was worn off, Dean lifted Micah up into his arms, holding her on his right side. "You got talent, kiddo," he praised her as well. "This looks freaking awesome."

Micah looked at him, "You wike it?"

"You bet I do," Dean smiled.

"So do I," Jo touched her hand to the middle of Micah's back.

Dean kissed Micah's forehead. "Play with your trains for a little bit while your mom and I finish some things, and I will be back up here to play with you. Okay?" he told her, setting her back down on her socked feet.

Micah nodded up at Dean and turned around to leap over the train track and started playing. Dean and Jo headed downstairs back to the kitchen table where they were looking over Micah's medical files.

Eventually, Dean picked up Micah's birth certificate and looked it over again, finally noticing her date of birth. He had noticed it before but it hadn't really clicked on in his brain just how long ago her birthday was.

What month are we in?" he finally asked, not looking up from it.

Jo was still looking through Micah's medical files. "The end of February, why?" she replied.

He looked over at her, "Micah just turned five the first week of this month."

Jo stopped reading and looked up at him, confused where Dean was going with this. "Okay, what about it?"

"This is still her birthday month and I'm guessing Micah's real parents didn't throw her any kind of party or anything," he shrugged.

She lowered the top of the paperwork, "Wait. Are you saying you want to throw Micah a birthday party?"

Dean shrugged again, "Sure, why not? It would give everyone a chance to meet her and be a good excuse to spoil her."

"We can only spoil her on her birthday?" Jo grinned, thinking of the trip they had taken that morning.

"My kid is not growing up to be a spoiled, little brat. If there's a toy she wants, she can either wait until her birthday or Christmas, or work for it if she really wants it." Dean took a long drink of his beer.

"And how is Micah supposed to work?" she asked of him.

"Uh, by doing extra chores around the house. Just because me and Sam had to steal as kids doesn't mean mine has to."

Jo was impressed by just how much Dean was taking parenting. She never expected Dean to act this way, not that it was a bad thing but it still caught her off guard. "Okay," Jo agreed, "How about on Saturday since it's the last day of the month and gives us plenty of time to plan."

Dean grinned at her, "Perfect," he said and leaned over to kiss Jo, holding it for a moment before they heard an "ew." Dean moved back and looked over where the voice had come from, smiling at the little girl. "What's up, kiddo?"

Micah looked up at the ceiling, confused. "The wight?" she asked.

He looked up at the lights above the table, "That is true. The light is above us." Dean guessed Micah didn't hear that phase among her biological family. "Need something though?"

She wrung her hands, in a shy manner, staring at the floor. "Are you done yet? I want to play with you, Daddy."

"It's only been ten minutes," he laughed but stopped when he saw Micah wasn't laughing.

"Go ahead, Dean," Jo told him. "I'll call and set up the doctors' appointments."

Dean asked, "You sure?"

She nodded so he stood up from his seat and went over to kneel beside Micah.

"How about a ride, Mic?" Micah just stared at the man, confused again. He pointed at his back, "Hop on my back and hold onto my neck, and I can give ya a lift upstairs if you want."

Micah slowly moved around to stand behind Dean and reached up to hug his neck, pulling herself up before he stood up.

"Ready?" he asked, looking back over his shoulder at her.

She nodded.

Dean then carried Micah upstairs, holding onto her. Micah started enjoying it too and didn't want to be put down when he got to her bedroom so giving her more time, Dean moved around the upstairs hallway so she could get her fill.


	10. Chapter 10

Answered Prayers

Chapter 10

The following morning, Jo got Micah dressed while Dean prepared breakfast for the three of them. While Jo was helping Micah dress, she talked to her about where they were going that day.

"Do you remember going to the doctor's with your grandma, Micah?" Jo was asking as she held the shirt for Micah to put her arm through the sleeve.

Micah placed her arm through as she shook her head.

"No, you don't remember? It's okay if you don't," she assured her.

"What is a doctor?" Micah asked.

"A doctor is someone who makes you feel better when you are feeling sick or helps keep you from getting sick. They use tools to listen to your heart, look into your ears and mouth, and take your temperature. Do you remember anything like that?"

Micah thought on what Jo was telling her but still shook her head. Her grandmother only took Micah to the doctor's once a year and the last time she went, Micah had just turned four.

Jo patted the bed beside her and unrolled a pair of socks as Micah climbed onto her bed. Jo then put the socks on Micah's feet and put one shoe on. "Here, you try," she told Micah, handing her the other shoe.

Micah pulled the velco straps off and tried to shove her foot into it, struggling a little. Jo stopped her for a second to pull the straps up so it would be easier and let Micah continue. She was then able to slide her foot right in and pulled the straps down, in a crooked manner.

Jo smiled, "Good job, Micah. Give me five," and held up her hand to Micah which she flinched and scooted back, terrified. "It's okay, Micah. I wasn't going to hit you. When someone says, 'give me five,' you smack your hand to theirs. Like this…" Jo asked for her hand and showed Micah what she meant, reminding Micah of what Dean had told her before.

After breakfast, they piled into the Impala and drove to the pediatrician's office. On the way, Dean and Jo discussed ideas for Micah's party on Saturday.

"Maybe the park," Jo suggested.

Dean droved with his left hand, resting it on his raised leg. "It's too cold for the park, isn't it?" he said, "and doing it at home seems too boring."

"How about the _Peter Piper Pizza_ that's near Costco? Or there's also Chuck E. Cheese too."

"Don't you have to call way in advance for those places? Saturday's only two days away," he pointed out, looking between Jo and the road.

"Yeah, if you want the whole birthday package, which is probably expensive and until you go back to work, we're going off of my salary," Jo told him. "I mean just go there and order a few pizzas for everyone and buy enough tokens for Micah since she'll be the only kid there."

Dean slowed down at a stoplight. "This is Micah's first birthday with us. I want this thing to be memorable. Just going there and ordering a few pizzas isn't memorable to me. When my dad took me and Sam to Chuck E. Cheese for Sam's fourth birthday, that's all we did and I barely even remember it. I remember more of another kid's party that was happening that same night with the package you can get. For birthdays and Christmas, I want to go above and beyond."

"Again, we have two days and not a lot to spend on this, Dean," she said.

"I still have the credit card, Sam and I use while we're hunting," he shrugged, "May as well use that up since I won't need it anymore."

"So what do you want to do?" Jo asked. "You're the one that said you need time in advance to order those things."

"I'll call and see. Maybe somebody cancelled. If not, we can do something else." An idea popped into Dean's head, suddenly, "How about laser tag?"

"Dean, whatever we do, it will be memorable for Micah. Throwing a party at home will be memorable enough, or doing a simple one at Peter Piper would suffice."

Dean looked forward as he drove, not saying a word. He sighed, "I know. I just want to throw her something really huge, you know. Give Micah what Sam and I never had."

Jo shrugged, "I never had a birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. My mom always threw one for me at the Roadhouse."

"Exactly, don't you want Micah to have better than that?" he asked.

"They were a lot of fun though," she admitted. "I remember having really great ones."

Dean turned to glance out his window.

"Dean, you're not gonna be one of those parents who try and live their lives through their children. Are you?"

"What? No, of course not, those parents need to get a life of their own. No, I just want Micah to have a really fun and exciting time at her party," he said as he looked up into the rearview mirror at Micah, who was sitting in the backseat, playing with her toy trains she brought along with her, running them along the door handle where the ashtray was.

"I'm sure Micah would have a great time whatever we decide." Jo turned back to look at Micah, "Right, Micah?"

Micah looked in Jo's direction, a puzzled look on her face.

"Where would you like your party, Mic?" Dean asked the little girl in the rearview mirror. "Any ideas where you would like to have it?"

She thought on it before she replied, "The mouse pwace."

"The mouse place?" Dean stared over at Jo, who shrugged.

Jo asked her, "What's the mouse place, sweetheart?"

"On TB," Micah said, meaning to say TV. "There's a mouse and games, and pissa."

Dean thought in his head, trying to piece what Micah said together in his head until it hit him. "You mean Chuck E. Cheese?"

Micah nodded, "Yeah. I tell my o-ter mommy but she say no."

Dean made up his mind. "That settles it. We are having it at Chuck E. Cheese and if they don't have a spot for that day we will book another day."

"We going to the mouse pwace?" Micah asked.

"We are going to the mouse place," he told her with a smile.

She cheered, happily which made Dean very happy to see her show any kind of emotion like that.

"So, who are we all inviting?" Jo changed the subject to Dean. "My mom will want to come to meet Micah. Would Bobby come?"

"Oh yeah, he would if we ask him to. Now that I think about it, a guy at the garage may have a kid around Micah's age. I can invite them so Micah can have at least one kid, besides her, at her party," Dean shrugged.

"That's great," she replied, elated.

The drive was silent for a few minutes until Dean suddenly realized. "Wow," he said, staring at the road.

Jo asked, "What?"

"Never thought I would be having discussions like this that doesn't involve hunting."

She smiled at that and reached over to kiss Dean, "Because the family bug bit ya."

Micah looked up from her toys, grossed out. "Ew, that yucky."

"That's how Mommy and Daddy show their love," Dean grinned at his little girl in the mirror.

"My o-ter mommy and daddy made loud noises togeter," she said. The two of them exchanged looks between each other, knowing exactly what Micah's parents were really doing. "And my o-ter mommy would say she wanted more."

"Okay, Mic," Dean said as he rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, "That's enough. We don't need details. We'll tell you what that means when you're _a lot _older. They didn't do that in front of you or when you were in the room, did they?"

Micah nodded. "Sometimes, I thought my o-ter daddy was hurting Mommy."

"He wasn't, sweetheart but that's a private mommy and daddy thing that they shouldn't have been doing with you in the room. Okay?"

She nodded. "Am I in twouble, Daddy?" Micah's lip quivered which she sucked in.

"No, sweetheart, you're not in trouble. You're a good girl, right?"

Micah nodded once more.

"That's right. Wait, what are you?" he asked, wanting Micah to say it out loud, for herself.

"A good girl?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear," Dean praised.

It wasn't much longer to the pediatrician. Dean pulled into the parking lot and parked near the door, sliding out before opening Micah's door for her. "Toys stay in the car, Micah, except for Max. He can come in," he told her.

Micah looked back, behind her and realized she had forgotten her zebra at home. "I left Max at home," she said, alarmed.

"Crap," Dean muttered and looked over the car, at Jo. "Is Micah getting an s-h-o-t?"

"Yes, two of them. Why?" she replied.

Dean wiped his hand down his face, "Micah didn't bring Max." He turned back to Micah and lifted her up to sit her on the roof of the Impala, placing both hands on either side of her. "When we see the doctor, she's gonna give you a shot. Do you remember what that is?"

Micah shook her head, "What's a shot?"

"The doctor's gonna poke you with a needle in your arm, twice. It's to keep you from getting sick though and you can sit on my lap if you need to," he explained.

"Will it hurt?"

Dean took her left hand in his hand, "For a little bit, yes but it will be okay, I promise. I will get you a happy meal for lunch, afterwards and maybe get some ice cream. That sound good?"

Micah nodded, slowly. She still didn't understand what a shot was, exactly. If only she and Dean knew what would happen when they got in there and she sees what it is for herself. No thanks to her real mother, Micah was scarred by needles she just didn't remember what they were called.

Dean lifted Micah down from the roof and she took ahold of his hand as they walked up to the glass door. He held the door for his girls and went inside after them. Dean offered to do the paperwork but Jo assured him that maybe she should do it. So he wandered over where Micah was looking at the toys, sitting in a chair nearby.

Micah was holding a baby doll in her hands, looking it over.

Dean smiled, "Is that your baby, Mic?"

She looked up at her father, sadly. "I don't know how to take care of a baby."

"It's a lot of work to take care of one. You have to feed them, and rock them to sleep, and change their diaper when it stinks. Gross, huh?" he nodded at her once.

Micah looked down at the doll again.

"Here, I'll show ya how to hold a baby. Come here, Mic." Dean gently pulled her towards him and took the doll. He showed Micah how to hold a baby with it, explaining what to do before he had her try it. Micah tried to do exactly what her father showed her. Dean fixed her arms but for the most part she had it down. "Just like that," he told her. "A baby can't hold its own head so you have to make sure to hold it for them."

Jo had looked up from the paperwork, watching the two of them. "You like it, Micah?" she asked.

Micah nodded.

"Would you like a baby brother or sister?"

"A baby broter or siter?" she asked.

Jo nodded which Dean snickered to himself, knowing what Jo was doing, "Yeah, and you can help us hold the baby and maybe help feed it. That sound exciting?" Jo asked her.

"Or would you like to stay an only child," Dean added with a smirk.

"I want a baby siter," Micah said, excited now.

"All right," Jo smiled. "We just have to convince your dad to have a baby. Get him on board with us."

Micah looked at Dean. "I want a baby siter, Daddy."

"Why when you're my baby?" Dean grabbed Micah in his arms and planted a series of kisses on her cheek. "I thought you were my baby, Micah. Aren't you?"

Micah whimpered, trying to pull herself out of her father's grasp. "No, Daddy. Let me go," she cried, quietly.

Dean loosened his grip on her and stopped kissing her cheek. "I was just having fun with you, that's all." Micah twisted around and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying into his right shoulder. He held her in a loving embrace, rubbing her back. "It's okay, Mic. There's no need to cry. I wasn't calling you a baby to hurt your feelings. Is that why you're upset? Or was I embarrassing you in front of those other kids over there?"

She didn't respond.

Dean sat up, straight, moving Micah to his right leg and just held her for a moment. "Mommy and I will have a baby in two years, maybe. Okay? Right now, we have to focus on helping you," he told her, gently.

Micah nodded.

After a few minutes, Dean suggested Micah go ask a little girl who was playing with some dolls if she could play too. Micah shook her head. He nudged her off his leg, gently and towards the other girl. Micah looked over at the girl and started crying again before dashing over to Jo who was standing at the front desk and hugged her leg.

Jo brushed Micah's hair with the back of her fingers, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Micah tightened her grip on her adoptive mother's leg and hid her face against it. When the secretary returned with their insurance card, she handed it back to Jo and told her it would be a twenty minute wait. Jo thanked her and very carefully moved around to walk back to her seat, letting Micah know she was moving. Micah let go of her leg but stayed with Jo like glue until she sat down, then Micah climbed up onto another chair and sat down to curl up beside her. Jo wrapped her right arm around Micah and rubbed her upper arm.

Dean moved over to them. "I was trying to get Micah to go ask that girl if she could play with her," he explained and sat down on Micah's other side.

Jo had looked up at Dean then looked back down at the little girl. "Don't you want to play with that other little girl, sweetheart?"

Micah shook her head and buried her face into Jo's side.

She asked, "How come?" but Micah didn't answer.

Dean let out a breath of air as he leaned his forearms on his legs. He should have realized Micah would be antisocial living with her biological parents. She was isolated from the outside world, after all and never got the chance to be around kids her own age. Dean and Jo had definitely had their work cut out for them but would never give up on her.

The small family waited a bit until a nurse wearing little, colorful teddy bear scrubs called Micah's name and led them back to a scale, asking for Micah to remove her shoes. Micah looked up at her parents and Jo repeated for her to remove her shoes, explaining why. So she sat down on the floor and undid the straps before pulling them off.

Standing up again, the nurse told Micah to stand on the scale. She stepped up and stood still while the nurse moved the dials until they balanced then pulled out the metal bar to measure how tall Micah was, lowering it down, slowly and rested it on her head.

Micah tensed up when it touched. "It's okay, sweetheart," the nurse assured her. "You're fine." She looked at Micah's height and raised it, to put the bar back. The nurse said she could step down and put her shoes on again. Once Micah had her shoes on, the nurse had her stand on a piece of black tape and to cover one eye. Micah did as she was told and covered her right eye first.

"Okay, can you read the lowest line you can read?" the nurse asked. Micah didn't say anything. Her lower lip was starting to quiver and her eyes were glossing over. "Just read me the line you can read, sweetheart."

When she still did not speak, Dean went over to kneel down to Micah's level and used his shirt to wipe her eyes. "Read me the line in my ear, Mic," he told her afterwards and lowered his ear to her.

Micah read her father the fifth line, slowly and Dean repeated it out loud to the nurse while keeping her eye covered. When her left eye was finished, the nurse had Micah cover her other one and do the same for her right eye. She continued to whisper the numbers and letters to her adoptive father so he could say them out loud until they finished with that eye too and the nurse led them to a bathroom where Micah had to pee inside a container hooked on a toilet. Dean and Jo waited outside the door.

"Okay, I'm confused," Dean said. "Why does she need to pee in a cup for? Micah's not on drugs."

Jo shook her head at the floor and looked up at him. "It's not always for drug testing, Dean. It's just to check for any kind of infection. This is a full examination."

Dean looked away, folding his arms across his chest as he was leaning against the wall. "Interesting," he muttered.

The door opened and Micah came out.

"Hey, all finished?" Jo asked her.

She nodded.

The nurse then led them to a room, shutting the door behind her when everyone was inside. Dean lifted Micah up onto the examination table, the paper crinkling underneath her weight and helped remove her jacket as the nurse set her clipboard down on the counter, next to the sink before going over to the little girl. The room was a normal doctor's office room, except the walls were painted with characters from _The Jungle Book. _Each room had a different Disney theme.

The nurse reached over and grabbed the blood pressure cuff as she asked for Micah's arm. Micah looked up at her, scared what was going to happen. Dean who was standing opposite from the nurse, on the other side of the bed, rubbed Micah's back, assuring there was nothing to worry about and told her to give the nurse her arm. So Micah held her left arm out, biting down on her lower lip and waited to see what would happen. The nurse pulled up Micah's sleeve and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her upper arm and grasped the ball on the end after placing her stethoscope in her ears and held the round, metal cold part on the inside of Micah's elbow. She then started squeezing the ball in her hand until the band around Micah's arm tightened.

When it started tightening, Micah got scared again and whimpered quietly to herself. Dean heard one of them and hugged her head to him, kissing the top of it, telling her to relax. She hid her face in her father's chest, wanting them to remove the horrible thing from her arm.

Eventually, the nurse did remove it from her arm and returned it to its shelf and her stethoscope around her next. The nurse walked back to her chart to make a few notes while Dean continued to get Micah to relax. She returned and grabbed a thermometer this time, sticking the part that goes inside the mouth into the attached box to place a plastic cover over it and put it to Micah's mouth.

"Can you open for me?" she asked Micah, gently.

"Open your mouth for her, Mic," Dean told her as well when he saw her just staring at it. Micah listened and very hesitantly, opened her mouth. The nurse placed it under her tongue and told her she could close her mouth and waited for the thermometer to beep.

Once the thermometer beeped, the nurse removed it from her mouth and shot the cover into a trashcan, returning it to its shelf as well before walking over to her chart again. She made one finally note and picked it up.

"Have her strip down to her underwear and the pediatrician will in shortly," she said before leaving.

Dean pulled off Micah's shirt for her when the door was closed and lifted her down on her feet. He kneeled to her level to undo Micah's jeans and let Micah do the rest, handing them to Jo, who folded them. Micah was about to take her underwear off but Dean assured her to leave them on and lifted her back onto the table.

"It's great to be able to look at her and not cringe from the dozen bruises that covered her body," Jo said.

Dean agreed.

It wasn't long before the doctor walked in shutting the door behind her, slowly. "Hello, I am Dr. Brown," she greeted the family, cheerfully. "I will be your child's pediatrician."

Jo shook her hand first, "I'm Jo."

"And I'm Dean," he nodded, shaking the pediatrician's hand last.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled at them and looked over at Micah who had her head down, staring at her folded hands in her lap. "What's your name, cutie pie?" A reply never came. "Shy one, huh? That's okay." Dr. Brown walked over to set her chart down where the nurse had put hers. "We're here for a full examination and an immunization update?"

"Yes, my fiancé here, and I just adopted Micah this week and wanted to get everything up-to-date as soon as possible," Jo explained.

"Do you know of the biological family's medical history that I should be aware of?" she continued to ask.

"Both Micah's biological parents were drug users…" Jo explained everything she read in the medical records, including Micah's first year, in and out of the hospital while Dr. Brown walked over to Micah, sticking the ear pieces inside her ears and placed the metal, cold, round part over her heart and listened for a heartbeat.

Micah flinched from the doctor's touch on her upper back and how cold the stethoscope was on her bare skin.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart," Dr. Brown assured her as Jo continued and moved the stethoscope to Micah's upper back. "Can you breathe in for me?" Micah breathed in, not understanding why and did it a couple more times when Dr. Brown moved the stethoscope. "There doesn't seem like there was any abuse, so that's good." She placed the stethoscope around her next.

"No, the bruises just healed quickly," Dean quickly spoke out and cleared his throat into his fist. "I know of a secret family remedy to make bruises go away faster."

Dr. Brown unhooked the otoscope and put it together. "How many bruises were there and what was the severity?"

"Bad, all over where her clothes covered them," Dean explained. "The back of her shirt and underwear were torn too like she was beaten with a belt or some kind of strap or something."

She shook her head. "She's very lucky to have found you," Dr. Brown smiled at both Dean and Jo.

"Funny part is, this one didn't want kids and he's the one who brings Micah home and begs me to adopt her," Jo teased Dean, grabbing onto his arm like she had done a few years before when they were hunting a spirit of a murderer, kidnapping blond girls.

Dean shrugged, "I never knew just how a kid would butter me up."

Dr. Brown laughed and stuck the otoscope in Micah's left ear which Micah pulled away, instinctively. "I need to look inside your ear to make sure everything's fine in there," she told her.

Dean walked over when Micah didn't move and rubbed her back, up and down. "Let her look in your ear, Mic. Remember the happy meal and ice cream afterwards?" he smiled, reminding her.

Micah looked up at him and looked back at Dr. Brown, and slowly moved back towards her, squeezing Dean's shirt when Micah felt the otoscope in her ear again. Just in case, Dean decided to mutter, _Cristo_ under his breathe but loud enough for it to be heard.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Dr. Brown asked.

"What?" Dean asked. "No, no. I was just clearing my throat."

She nodded and moved around the table to check Micah's other ear which Micah had whimpered in pain. "Have you ever seen inside her ear?" Dr. Brown asked both Dean and Jo.

"No. Why, what's wrong?" Dean asked first, a little panicky now.

"There's a burn ring just inside her ear canal like she was burnt with a lit cigarette," she explained.

Dean and Jo exchanged looks of alarm and looked back at the pediatrician.

"What?" Dean blurted out. He could see Micah's eyes watering as she squeezed them tight, the pain unbearable.

Dr. Brown removed the otoscope. "Someone took a lit cigarette and stuck it in her ear. They couldn't go all the way in. It's close enough where you can see it without one of these. Looks like part of the skin is burned away," she explained.

"Is there anything we can do?" Jo asked, wanting to cry just thinking about how much the burn had to hurt.

"I'm afraid not. The tissue is all burned away. Micah will have that scar for the rest of her life."

None of it made sense to Dean. Not only the fact, someone could do something as burn a child's ear with a cigarette, but how Castiel had missed it when he healed her. If the angel could heal her bruises why didn't he heal the burn mark? It wasn't like Castiel to miss anything. Of course, ever since Dean found Sam was out of the cage, nothing seemed right.

Dr. Brown took ahold of Micah's chin and tilted her head up and told Micah to open her mouth as wide as she could so she could look inside before replacing the otoscope on its hook. Dr. Brown finished the examination, checking her reflexes on Micah's knees and examined her whole body. Micah didn't like having her stomach pressed on either and pushed the doctor's hands away, sitting up.

"Did it hurt, sweetheart?" Dr. Brown asked, gently.

Micah nodded and motioned to whisper something to her adoptive father. Dean moved closer and lowered his ear for her.

He smiled when he heard the reason and stood up. "Micah says it hurts because you were pressing on it."

"I'm sorry, Micah," Dr. Brown apologized.

Micah just hid her face in Dean's stomach.

"Well, that should be it. The only major observation I caught was her ear. Everything else seems fine," she told Dean and Jo who thanked her. "No problem. I will run and get the stuff ready for her immunizations and will be right back." Dr. Brown grabbed her chart and left the room.

The moment the door closed again, Dean turned on Jo. "Cas said he healed everything, including the flu Micah had. How the hell did he not heal the freakin' burn in her ear?"

"I don't know but I think we should be using this time to prepare Micah of what's to come," Jo pointed out, nodding over at Micah.

Dean nodded in agreement and turned back to his daughter, pulling her into an embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

Answered Prayers

Chapter 11

Both Dean and Jo prepared Micah for the immunizations she was about to receive. Dean even gave her arm a minor pinch to show how much it would hurt. Micah rubbed at the area where he pinched her but didn't yelp or cry. It gave Dean and Jo hope that maybe it won't be so bad and she will bear the pain.

However, when Dr. Brown returned with the tray and opened the first syringe filled with the medicine Micah needed at her age, Micah recognized what it was. Dean saw her eyes widened and she bolted away, crinkling the paper underneath her some more and even tore it.

"No! No! NO!" Micah screamed, shaking her head as she stared at the syringe in Dr. Brown's hand. "I be good, Daddy. You say I a good girl."

Dean was confused, "Micah, what are you talking about? This is just medicine to keep you from getting sick," he explained to her.

Micah was backing up so far she backed into the wall against Baloo, the bear. She shut her eyes tight and continued to shake her head. "I be good! I be good!" she cried out over and over again.

Dean moved over to hold her still while Dr. Brown walked to her other side and rubbed an alcohol-soaked tissue on Micah's upper arm. Micah grew worse which surprised both Dean and Jo a lot as she tried to fight against Dean's hold on her. Dr. Brown couldn't get the needle anywhere near her arm how much Micah was moving.

Eventually, Jo suggested he try and hold Micah on his lap. So Dean lifted Micah up and carried her over to the chair by the door and sat down. Micah continued to cry out, begging for the needle to go away. None of them was sure where this had suddenly came from and wasn't sure what to make of it.

No one knew just how messed up Micah's parents really were. Her biological father would pin her down while her mother would stick Micah with empty syringes as another punishment. It wasn't helping that Dean was basically pinning her down at the moment and with Micah's eyes closed, she was forgetting where she was and who she was with.

"No, Mommy! I sorry! I sorry! I won't do it again, I pwomise," Micah cried out, referring to her biological mother.

Jo kneeled beside Dean. "You're not in trouble, I promise, Micah," she tried to assure the little girl. "It's just to keep you from getting sick like Daddy said."

But Micah wasn't hearing right and continued to cry out, making Jo teary-eyed as well.

Dean noticed from the corner of his eye. "Hey, hey," he told her, "If you need to step outside, I got this, Jo."

But Jo shook her head. "No, I have to stay and help Micah. I want to."

Dean nodded in understanding and returned his focus on the distressed child in his arms. "Micah, listen to us. We are trying to keep you healthy. It will only hurt for a second, I swear. You need to relax before you make yourself throw up." He tried sitting her on his lap but Micah was now trying to fling backwards, pushing her feet against his left leg. "What has gotten into her?" he asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Jo shrugged. "It had seemed like we had her content with getting a shot."

"Has Micah ever thrown a fit with you?" Dr. Brown asked.

Jo looked up at her, "No, Micah cries to herself, barely makes a sound."

"I could take a guess and say she remembers shots, she just didn't remember what it was called," Dean said as he got Micah into a sitting position again and pinned her arms to her side in a bear hug and wrapped his right leg around both of her legs. "Shh, shh, it's going to be all right, Mic," he assured the little girl in her left ear. "Come on, you can do this. You can do this, I know you can. You're a good girl, I promise. You are a good girl." Dean started repeating that last part over and over.

Micah was starting to cough by now as Dr. Brown walked over, spotting a chance to take. She rewiped Micah's arm with another alcohol-soaked tissue and poked the needle into it. The minute she felt the needle go in, Micah screamed like someone was murdering her.

"I sorry, Mommy! I sorry!" she cried.

Jo rubbed Micah's left shoulder, "Shh, shh, there's nothing to be sorry for, baby. I love you. You're not in any trouble. It's gonna help you, I promise." She was trying so hard not to cry, to stay strong for her adoptive daughter but seeing the little girl in so much distress, pained her heart and wished she knew why.

After a minute, the medicine was all gone and Dr. Brown removed the needle and covered it with a cotton ball, pressing against it. She told Jo to move over to her side and hold it while she grabbed a Band-Aid from the tray that had Daffy Duck on it.

"One down, one to go," Dr. Brown said and got the second syringe ready.

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything but please hurry," Dean told her. Micah was now starting to break free from his leg. He held his head against the top of hers, exhausted by now. "Come on, Mic," he continued to assure her, "it's gonna be just fine." He kissed Micah on the head. "Think about the ice cream we're gonna have. Chocolate ice cream the size of the cone itself, how's that sound?"

Tears were literally pouring down Micah's face and yet she hasn't opened them yet. If only she could, maybe it'll help. Dean decided to stand up and shift her around to hold her on his right side, trying his best to stay strong for both of his girls. They were both already crying and he was the man of the household, he couldn't break down. Hearing his little girl crying this much, he'd rather be back "downstairs" than let her go through all this.

After pacing around the room for a few minutes, Dean started humming one of his favorite songs, softly and soon Micah's crying was ceasing to tiny sniffles. Micah finally opened her eyes and moved her face across her adoptive father's shoulder where he could see her face.

"Are ya feeling better, kiddo?" he asked, softly.

Micah reached up and rubbed her forehead. "My head hurts, Daddy," she whimpered.

"I bet it does," he smiled. "You were balling your eyes out." The smile vanished. "What happened back there? What scared you about getting the shot?"

"Shot?" she asked, rubbing her left eye now.

Dean brushed some hair behind Micah's left ear, "Yeah, you screamed your head off when the doctor pulled out the needle. How come?"

Micah hid her face in his shoulder, not answering him.

"Come on, Mic," he told her, shifting her weight, "talk to me. You still have one more to get and I don't really want the same thing repeated. Let us help you, please."

Jo walked over behind Dean and brushed her right hand along Micah's hair, "Did your other mommy do something to you, Micah?" she asked, guessing from her cries it had something to do with Micah's biological parents.

Micah nodded against Dean's shoulder still.

"What did she do, sweetheart?"

She didn't answer her adoptive mother, this time.

Dean rubbed her back in circles, "Talk to us, Mic. Please?" he pleaded with her, gently. "We just want to help, that's all. Just tell us what happened. You will not be in trouble, I swear. Just talk to us."

Dr. Brown spoke up, "Let me step out for a minute so you can talk in private." She took the tray and left, closing the door behind her.

Dean rubbed the back of Micah's head, gently. "We love you, Mic, just talk to us."

Finally, Micah muttered something but none of them could hear or understand her. Dean told her to speak up. She repeated it a little louder but it still wasn't clear. Micah moved her head to whisper in Dean's ear, "I want Mommy to weave."

Dean repeated it out loud to Jo. Jo was a little sad to hear Micah wanted her to leave but didn't really take it to heart. After all, Micah was opened up to Dean more than she was with anyone else. So Jo left the room as well, leaving Dean and Micah alone.

"Okay, it's just you and me, kiddo," Dean told the little girl. "Now can you tell me what's going on with the needles? What did your other mom do?"

Micah was rubbing her eye again. Dean gently grabbed her wrist and made her stop, moving her hand away from her face.

"Come on, Mic. I won't yell at you or punish you, okay? I just want to help you. Just talk to me."

In her own words, Micah told him about her biological mother sticking her with old needles. Dean squeezed his eyes shut, resting his head against hers once he heard more of the torture his little girl lived through. How could people be so cruel like that? It basically made him sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry you had parents like that, kiddo," he told her. "I'm so sorry you had to live a whole year with them. You're with us now and we love you very much. I mean you managed to worm your way into our hearts so quickly. You made me get out of something I never thought I would walk away from. You're our little girl now, okay? Don't ever forget that. In fact, forget them, forget those miserable, no-good…" he wanted to call Micah's biological parents one of his choice names reserved for dicks like them but fought desperately to sensor himself for Micah's sake. "…jerks," he said the first word to come to his mind.

Micah nodded on his shoulder, rubbing her eye once more.

"Listen though. The doctor only gave you one shot, so far. You still have one more to get today. I know it's scary for you and its okay to cry a little because I know it hurts like a…" Dean sighed. Trying to sensor himself around Micah was going to be a challenge that was for sure. "It's gonna really hurt but you have to remember that your mom and I, we're not making you get this shot because we like to see you hurt. We're doing this because we care and don't want you to get sick. Do you understand?"

She nodded, still rubbing her eye.

"Can you stop rubbing your eye and look me in the eye when you answer me?" He tried to be stern with her while keeping his voice as gentle as he could without scaring her more than she was. Micah continued rubbing her eye so Dean moved it away for her. "Do you understand we're not trying to hurt you on purpose?"

Micah looked up at her adoptive father and nodded once more.

"I'm gonna let Mommy and the doctor back in and I need you to let the doctor give you the last shot. I'm gonna hold you, I won't leave you. Just remember who you're with and think about the ice cream we're gonna have later. You like ice cream, right?"

She couldn't help let out a smile when Dean mentioned ice cream.

"There's that beautiful smile I love," he told her, touching his forehead to hers. "There's that smile." Dean pulled back and walked over to open the door, letting Jo and the pediatrician back inside.

"Are we all set?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I hope so," Dean replied. "Are you ready, Mic?"

Micah was chewing on her fingernail but nodded.

"I just need her left arm," Dr. Brown told him, peeling open another alcohol-soaked tissue.

Dean shifted Micah over to his right side and had her lay her head down on his shoulder as he rubbed her back up and down. Dr. Brown walked over and rubbed Micah's upper left arm and reached back to pick up the second syringe and a cotton ball. While she brought the needle towards Micah's arm, Dean made sure to have Micah look the other way, holding the back of her head. Micah flinched at the slightest touch from the needle but Dean tried to keep her calm. When the needle went in farther, Micah started to lose it again.

"Shh, it's okay, Mic. You're fine, I promise," he assured her.

Micah was still tired from the first one but tried to move her arm away from the horrible tool the pediatrician was poking her with. "No, I sorry…" she whimpered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Mic. You did nothing wrong," Dean reminded her. "Just tell yourself over and over, you are a very good girl. Say it, Mic, you are a very good girl."

Micah was gone again. "No, I be good! I be good!" she cried, her eyes shut tight again, trying to jerk her arm away but Dean was holding it still. He tried not to hurt her but the way Micah was moving, Dean had to squeeze her arm a little tighter than he would have liked to.

Jo moved around, behind Dean and rubbed Micah's back from side to side. Running out of options to try, she started singing _You Are My Sunshine_ which actually was working. Micah was calming down just a little bit and even opened her eyes before the needle was removed.

She looked over at Jo. "Granma sing me that song," she said, softly.

Jo smiled, brushing some of Micah's hair behind her right ear, "She did, huh? My mom used to sing it to me, too when I was your age."

When Dr. Brown removed the needle, she held the cotton ball on the puncture to hold the bleeding and reached back to set the syringe down on the tray and picked up a Band-Aid, peeling it open and stuck a Tweedy Bird one on her arm, this time. "There, all done."

Micah looked over at her then over at Jo again before looking at Dean. "I want Mommy, Daddy," she told him so only he heard.

"You want Mommy to hold you?" he asked.

She nodded.

Jo wanted cry when she heard Micah wanted to be held by her as Jo smiled. Dean passed Micah over to her, making sure Jo had her before letting go. Micah automatically hooked her arms around Jo's neck and hid her face inside them, against Jo's neck. She was surprisingly lighter than Jo had anticipated so she was able to hold Micah with no problem since she was a bit smaller than Dean's size.

"Sing it again, Mommy," Micah whispered in Jo's right ear.

Jo smiled and sang the song once more, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You never know, dear how much I love you. So please don't take my sunshine away." She shifted Micah up. "It's about time to leave, are you feeling better enough for me to put you down and get you dressed?"

Micah lifted her head to look at her adoptive mother and nodded.

"You sure?"

She nodded again.

"Here, I'll make your owie feel better." Jo lifted Micah's right arm and kissed over the Band-Aid. "There, did that help?"

Micah moved her other arm towards her, "This one too, Mommy."

Jo smiled and kissed that one too. "There, all better?" she asked.

Micah nodded and allowed Jo to put her down on her socked feet. Jo grabbed Micah's jeans off the examination table and helped her get dressed before they left the office, signing Micah out at the front desk.

Outside again, the three of them piled into the Impala and Dean pulled out of the parking lot and announced the next stop was McDonalds as Micah cheered.

On the road, Jo twisted around in her seat to ask, "Would you like to hear another song, Micah that my mom used to sing to me?"

Micah nodded. "Granma always sing to me. She sing lots of songs."

"She did, huh," she smiled at the little girl. "Do you know this one?" Jo started to sing _You'll be in my Heart_. Micah sat there, listening carefully, taking the words to heart and even looked behind her when Jo was at the last part of the song.

At McDonalds, Dean and Jo each ordered a cheeseburger, Dean made sure his had bacon, and ordered Micah a girl's happy meal, eating at a table inside where the play place was. Micah wanted to sit by Jo so Dean had to sit across from them alone.

Dean and Jo were discussing about Micah's party again. "What I don't like though is that they do everything, don't they?" she asked. "I mean, do they supply a cake too? I would like it if we could choose what the cake looks like, maybe have Kai-Lan on it if it's possible, and choose a theme for the party like princesses or something."

"I don't wike princesses," Micah spoke up, eating her fries while her cheeseburger sat there, only missing a couple bites.

"You don't?" Jo looked over at her. "What do you like?"

Micah looked up at the ceiling for a moment before she said, "Kai-Lan."

"You want a Kai-Lan party?"

She nodded.

"Oh gosh, Micah's gonna go through a faze where everything has to be Kai-Lan, I bet," Dean snickered into his burger.

Jo shrugged, "Nothing wrong with that if Micah likes her."

"What does _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan_ even mean?" he questioned.

"Ni-hao is hello in Chinese, Daddy. It's hello, Kai-Lan," Micah explained to her adoptive father. "Ni-hao, Daddy."

Dean smiled, "Ni-hao, Mic."

Micah turned her heard towards Jo, "Ni-hao, Mommy."

"Ni-hao, sweetheart," Jo replied, also with a smile.

"You're too cute, kiddo," Dean snickered, shaking his head and took a bite of his burger. "Finish eating so we can get ice cream after this."

Micah picked up her burger and took a bite, chewing it before taking another one and put it back down. She washed the burger down with her chocolate milk and picked up her burger again.

"I'm sure they'll let us supply the cake," Dean started talking about the party again. "It's right here, why don't we go talk to them now after we finish eating." He glanced over at Micah who was now dangling a French fry in the air like she was a fish reaching for a worm. "Micah, what are you doing?"

"Pretending to be a fish," she replied.

Dean smirked, shaking his head, "You're so weird, kid."

Jo hissed, _"Dean!"_

"What?" he shrugged, innocently.

"Micah is not weird, she's being her. Nothing wrong about being different," she told him.

"Nothing wrong with being weird either," Dean replied and looked back at Micah. "It's okay to be weird, Mic. I'm weird too."

She nodded. "I eat too much, Daddy."

"You ate too much?" he asked her. "You only ate half of your burger. Can you at least try and eat a few more bites?"

Micah picked it up and took a bite. "I can't eat any more," she shook her head once she swallowed her food.

"She ate all her fries, at least," Jo pointed out. "Want to finish off her burger?"

"Sure." Dean reached across the table, "you sure you don't want to eat the rest of your burger?" he asked Micah one last time, his hand on it.

She nodded.

Dean picked it up and took the burger apart to slap what was left of Micah's meat on top of his and finished eating.

"Can I have the toy now?" Micah asked.

Jo brushed the salt off her fingers from her own French fries and picked up the packaged happy meal toy from the edge of the table. "Sure, sweetheart," she told her and ripped the toy out. This time, the toy was the blue _My Little Pony _with rainbow-colored hair. Jo passed it to her which Micah took.

"What do you say?" Dean asked as he watched Micah, holding his drink in his hand.

Micah looked up at him and shrugged.

"You say thank you when someone gives you something," he told her.

"Thank you, Mommy," Micah looked up at Jo.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," she smiled in return.

Micah moved the toy across the table like it was galloping and made it hop around.

Dean watched for a minute before he suggested, "Hey, Mic. Why don't you go play on the playground," he nodded over at the play place with screaming kids, crawling around, inside the tubes.

Micah looked over at it and shook her head, returning to her toy.

He ate the last bite, stuffing it inside his left cheek like a chipmunk and stood up from the table. "Come on, I'll go with you," Dean motioned with his head.

She continued to play with her toy. Dean had Jo move and stood on his right knee to lift Micah up, removing her right shoe before shifting her over and removing the other, setting them on the edge of the table. He then carried her over to the opening in the play place and set her down on her feet. Micah didn't move.

Dean squatted down to her level. "Go up there, Mic," he urged her, gently. "Ask those kids if you can play."

A little boy around seven had just slid down the slide by the opening. "She can play with us," he said, scooting to the edge and walked over to Dean and Micah.

"See, he says you can play with them," Dean smiled over at Micah. "Go on, have some fun."

She shook her head.

Dean looked back at the boy. "I'm Dean, and this is Micah. What's your name?" he introduced them.

"My name's Evan," he replied.

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Evan. Cool name," he shook the boy's hand and turned back to Micah. "Go play with Evan, Mic. It'll be fun. Your mom and I will be right over there, watching you," he motioned over at their table with his head.

Micah stood there for a minute as Dean urged her to go play before she dashed back to Jo. Dean dropped his head in his hands as he sighed.

"Did I do something wrong?" Evan asked.

"No, buddy, Micah's just really shy." He assured the boy and stood up, thanking him and headed back to their table. Micah was hiding her face in Jo's side when he returned.

"Give it time, Dean. It won't happen overnight," Jo assured him, reading his face.

He nodded. "Ready to go?"

"What about the ice cream you promised her?" she asked.

"If Micah says she's full then we can go later for a snack," Dean shrugged.

Jo reached over and grabbed the toy pony for Micah, passing it to her and grabbed hers and Micah's drinks to refill at the soda fountain on their way out.


	12. Chapter 12

Answered Prayers

Chapter 12

On the way home, Dean and Jo stopped at the Chuck E. Cheese across the street from the McDonalds to ask about their birthday deals and packages. Of course they couldn't get one for that Saturday but grabbed a slot for the following Saturday. On the drive home, Micah ended up falling asleep by the time Dean pulled into the driveway. He lifted her into his arms and carried her inside, collecting all her toys as Jo unlocked the front door.

Once Micah was lying in her bed, Dean headed inside the kitchen and grabbed a beer, calling out to Castiel. "Cas, you there? I need a word with you." He twisted the cap off and tossed it into the sink as he walked over to stand at the back door, looking out as he took a drink. "Cas, come on. I need to ask you something."

Dean waited some more before the angel finally showed. "I'm busy, Dean. What is it?" he asked, annoyed he was called.

Dean turned around, "Busy doing what?"

"With Heaven, Dean," the angel reminded him.

"Well, calm down, Cas. I just need you for a second." Dean paced around the room.

Castiel followed him with his eyes, "What?"

Dean stopped to look at Castiel again. "When you healed Micah, you said you healed everything."

"Yes, that is correct," he said in his usual serious tone.

"Then why does she still have a scar from someone sticking a lit cigarette in her ear?"

Castiel squinted his eyes at that, confused. "I don't know what you mean? I didn't sense any burn on her."

"Come here, I'll show you," Dean motioned the angel with his head. "But be quiet, she's sleeping." He led the angel upstairs and quietly into Micah's bedroom where Micah was fast asleep, clutching her zebra to her. Dean brushed her hair back from where it covered her right ear, shining a flashlight he gave to Micah in case she got scared during the night, into her ear. "Right there, Cas," he said in a low voice.

Castiel bent over to look inside her ear, examining it carefully. "Dean," he said after a while, standing up straight. "That is not a burn from what you call a cigarette."

"It's not?"

"No, it's a mark done by something to attract demons. That would probably explain why a demon was there when we found her. Micah has been marked," he explained.

Dean stood up, slowly, "Why?"

"I don't know. She must have been chosen for something."

Dean looked down at his sleeping little girl, who was sleeping peacefully. He then quickly moved around Castiel to check the salt line on the window sill, making sure it was still intact. "So what, once someone has that mark it can't be removed?" he asked once he knew the salt line was still in place.

"Not by an angel. It can only be removed by whoever placed it on her," Castiel continued to explain.

Dean leaned against the window, wiping his hand over his eyes. Of course this had to happen. But why?

Jo had been looking for Dean, finding him in Micah's room. "Hey, Cas. What's up?"

"Dean called me," he explained.

Dean walked over to Jo and explained to her about what the burn mark really was. "That also probably explains why that demon was there the night her real parents died," he said when he was finished. They had moved out into the hallway so they wouldn't wake Micah.

"But what would a demon want with a child in the first place?" Jo questioned.

"That's what I want to know," Dean agreed. His phone rang from inside his jeans pocket. Dean pulled it out and answered it. "Hello?"

"What the hell is wrong with your brother?" It was Samuel, Sam and Dean's grandfather and he did not sound happy.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I sent Christian with him on that vampire hunt for back-up and Christian gets himself bit while your brother just stands there and watches it happen. I knew how to reverse it but still, your brother did not lift a finger to help, Dean," Samuel explained, pacing around the room.

"I don't know, Samuel. The kid hasn't been himself. I don't know what's going on either. It's on my to-do list, trust me," Dean told the older man. "Listen, have you ever heard of a demon mark burned inside someone's ear?"

"What?" he questioned. "No, why?"

Dean was hesitating telling Samuel about what they just learned. He still wasn't fully trusting of the man yet but any help or knowledge would be great at this point. "We just learned my daughter we adopted has a mark inside her ear that is supposed to attract demons."

"No, I've never heard anything like that. I'll see what I can find though," Samuel said, calm now.

Dean thanked him and hung up.

"Who was that?" Jo asked, curious.

"That was Samuel. Sam got one of his men bitten while he just stood there and let it happen," he told her what Samuel had told him.

Jo shook her head, "That's not like Sam."

"I know firsthand that hell can change a person but having no feeling like this?" Dean shook his head. "Something is wrong."

Castiel was still standing there. He looked over at Dean, "I think I may be able to check to see what's wrong with Sam."

Dean asked, "How?"

"I can reach in and touch his soul."

"That sounds painful," Jo said.

"Very, but it may be the only way," the angel told her.

"Fine. I will call Sam and tell him to come home. In the meantime, while we wait for him I will call Bobby and see if he knows anything on this demon GPS in our daughter's ear." Dean walked away towards his and Jo's bedroom, calling Sam first. He asked about the hunt first to get his brother's side of the story on the vampire hunt and it was confirmed so Dean told Sam to get his ass home. Once that was settled, Dean called Bobby next.

Bobby picked up on the third ring, "This is Bobby."

"Hey, Bobby, it's Dean," he replied.

"Hey, Dean, how's Jo?" the old hunter asked.

"Good. Believe it or not but, uh, we're proud parents now," Dean grinned.

Bobby couldn't believe what he just heard. "Jo's pregnant?"

"No, not exactly."

"What do ya mean?"

Dean then told Bobby all about meeting Micah and about taking her in, including her running away and her aunt finding her.

"Why would a demon come after a kid for?" Bobby asked when Dean was finished.

"We took her to the pediatrician today and she found a burn mark inside her ear that looked like someone burned her with a cigarette. Cas confirmed it as some kind of mark left by something supernatural. It's supposed to attract demons, sort of like a demon GPS system. You ever heard of something like that?"

Bobby scrunched his eyebrows today. "I ain't never heard of a demon mark like that before. You sure that's what that is? Could be just a burn mark some sicko bastard left," he said.

"If it was, Cas would have been able to heal it when he healed her bruises but he says only whoever placed it can remove it," Dean shrugged, sitting on his side of the bed. "It has to be something supernatural, Bobby."

"Bring her over so I can look it," Bobby told him. "And I'll see what I can find out."

"Okay. Thanks, Bobby." Dean looked back over his right shoulder, over at the open door. "Micah's sleeping right now but as soon as she wakes up, we'll be right over." The men then hung up.

A little over than an hour, Micah finally woke up and went over to play with her toys, placing each train on the tracks and turned them on. Micah played with her new toy she got that day with her other pony, having them hop around the toy town.

Dean had fallen asleep too and woke up sometime after Micah did. He went to check on her, seeing her awake. "Hey, Mic, did ya have a good nap?" he asked, walking inside her room.

Micah looked up at her adoptive father and nodded. "No bad dweam," she shook her head.

He kneeled down to Micah's level. "Yeah? That's great, Mic," he smiled.

"Daddy," she said, changing the subject like any other kid would.

"Hm?" he acknowledged her.

"Why is tere salt on the window?" Micah had noticed it when she first moved in but had been afraid to ask. She decided to take a chance now.

Dean looked up at the window then back at her, not sure if he should tell Micah or not. "It's to keep bad things out," was all he decided to tell her.

"Wike the monsters?"

Dean nodded, "Like the monsters."

Micah looked down at her toys in her hands, "The ones with bwack eyes scare me more."

"It'll be all right, Mic," he assured her, lifting her into his arms, "I will protect you, I promise." Dean gave her an assuring squeeze before letting Micah go. "I'm gonna take ya to meet a friend of mine. You can call him Uncle Bobby, okay?"

"Will I get a shot again?" Micah asked, afraid.

Dean shook his head, "No, he's not a doctor. You're good on shots until next year. That's a long time away from now. No, he's gonna help us figure out what's that thing in your ear. Do you remember where you got it from or who gave it to you?"

Micah thought about it and shook her head.

"That's okay, we'll figure something out." Dean tapped her on the side of the knee, "Let's get your shoes back on so we can go." He reached over on his hands and knees to grab her tennis shoes and sat back on his legs to loosen the straps.

"I want to do it," she told her father, holding her hand out for the shoe. Dean smiled and handed it to her. He watched as Micah slid her foot inside and tightened the straps, still not getting them straight. Dean loosened the other shoe for her and handed it to Micah so she could put that one on as well.

"You want to bring Max, this time?" he asked, nodding over at the zebra on the bed.

Micah stood up on her feet and walked over to grab her favorite toy, hugging it to her as she faced her adoptive father again. Dean stood up as well and grabbed her jacket off her dresser to put it on again before he held his hand out to her. Micah took a hold of it to head downstairs and let Jo know they were leaving again. When they walked into the kitchen, there was a guest there neither of them were expecting.

"Hey, Dean," Ellen, Jo's mother greeted him. "Long time, no see. You can't pick up a phone and call your own mother-in-law or something?"

"There's been a lot on my mind, you know," he replied.

Ellen laughed and stood up off the stool she was sitting on to walk over and gave him a motherly embrace. When she pulled back, Ellen noticed Micah standing there, trying to hide behind Dean's legs.

"This must be little Micah," she smiled, warmly at the little girl.

Dean smiled down at her too. "Yup, this is her. Meet your new granddaughter, Ellen," he introduced.

Ellen bent over, folding her hands inside her legs. "Nice to meet you, Micah," she told her. "I'm Ellen, your mom's mom. You can call me, Nana if you like."

Micah peeked around her adoptive father's legs for a brief moment before hiding her face into the back of them.

"Micah's shy," Dean explained as Ellen stood up. "She'll warm up to you, eventually. She'll come up to ya before she'll start talking to you though."

"That's okay, she's adorable," Ellen smiled.

"Yes, she is," he smiled behind him and told Micah to go give her mother a hug and kiss good-bye.

Micah cautiously peeked out from around him to see if she was still looking.

Ellen continued to smile at her and got the message. "I won't look," she quickly looked away, letting Micah rush over to Jo, who squatted to her level.

"Have fun with Daddy and Bobby, okay," Jo said and kissed Micah on the cheek.

Micah kissed her back, on the cheek and gave Jo a hug around the neck. Quickly, hiding behind her adoptive mother, Micah checked to make sure Ellen wasn't looking before running back to Dean.

Dean turned and waved at the women as he and Micah headed for the front door.

"Dean, don't go eating out while you're gone," Jo called after him. "My mom made chili for dinner."

That brightened up Dean. "I can't wait then," he called back, his mouth watering. Dean loved Ellen's chili. It was his favorite so far. He opened the front door and let Micah out first. "You are gonna love Ellen's chili, Mic. It's super good, trust me."

Micah nodded and stopped at the top of the steps to prepare to jump off instead of stepping down. She swung her hands, holding her zebra by the leg and leaped into the air, landing on her feet.

"And she sticks the landing," Dean cheered, sounding like an Olympic announcer. "Micah has won the gold medal. Woo hoo!"

Micah hugged his leg. She loved this man so much, he was becoming her hero. Dean lifted her into the air and spun her around before placing her back on her feet. "Again," she told him.

Dean laughed, "Again? Okay, one more time." He lifted Micah up and spun her around again, placing her down on her feet once more.

"Again," she repeated, happily.

"Maybe later, Mic. We have to get a move on if we're gonna be back in time for dinner," Dean told her.

Micah looked at the ground, sadly and followed Dean over to the Impala. She wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into the car door when Dean opened it. She usually stopped when he opened her door and Dean didn't think about it. Micah cried out the minute her forehead connected with the door, holding it.

Dean quickly kneeled down to her level. "You're okay, Micah," he assured her. "Let me see it." Micah continued to cry as she clutched her forehead, not letting him see where she had hit it. "I'm really sorry, Mic. It was an accident. Let me see if it's bleeding, okay." He tried to pry her hand away as Micah held on as best as she could. "Micah, sweetheart, let me see it."

Micah cried, pitifully and finally removed her hand from it.

Dean brushed back her hair from her forehead, examining the area, spotting a bruise forming and possibly a small bump and took Micah back inside to grab her some ice to put on it, lifting her onto the breakfast counter.

"What happened, Dean?" Jo asked as he set Micah on the counter.

Dean moved across the kitchen to reach inside one of the drawers and pulled out a sandwich bag, "I hit Micah with the car door when I opened it."

Jo quickly looked at Micah as she was still crying. "Where?"

"On her forehead," he nodded towards Micah as he filled the bag with ice cubes from the ice machine.

Ellen had come over to them as well, and looked at the bruise, holding her left hand on her head, gently. "I see it, Jo," she pointed it out. "Right there."

Jo held back Micah's hair to look at it. "How hard did you hit her, Dean?"

He twisted the bag closed and tore off a couple pieces of paper towels, "I heard it so it was pretty hard," Dean explained and placed the homemade ice pack over the now visible bump once he had wrapped the paper towels around it. "I swear I thought she would stop. I feel awful about it."

Micah flinched back when she felt the cold ice pack.

"No, sweetheart, you have to keep the ice on so it can feel better," Jo told her.

"It cold, Mommy," she sniffled.

"I know it is but it'll numb the pain away. You know Daddy didn't mean to hurt you, right?"

Micah shook her head.

Dean was still holding the ice pack, moving it back towards her forehead. "I didn't mean to hit you, Mic," he told her again. "It was just an accident. Do you know what that means?"

She shook her head again.

"An accident is when you do something you didn't mean to do. I thought you were going to stop and move around the door. I should have made sure. This is all my fault, not yours. Do you understand?"

Micah nodded this time.

Dean smiled, "This isn't a very good day, is it?"

She shook her head a third time.

He removed the ice pack and leaned over to kiss her forehead, over the bump before replacing it back. "Does it feel better? A little?"

Micah nodded, smiling now.

Jo grabbed a clean kitchen rag and wet it in the sink with warm water, using it to wipe Micah's tear-stained face clean. After a few minutes, Dean removed the ice pack and dumped it in the sink.

"You know, if we had a dog you could have dumped that water in its water dish without having to waste it," Jo smirked, leaning on the counter.

Dean lifted Micah down on her feet, "For the last time we are not getting a dog," he told her. "We have a kid now, that's all we need."

"Having Micah is the perfect excuse to get a dog," she shrugged. "Dogs can be very therapeutic for kids with Micah's background."

"Yeah, and they shed all over the place and stink up the whole house, too," Dean pointed out. "My word is final and this discussion is over."

"That's usually what final means," she smirked.

Dean couldn't help grin at the woman. "Shut up," he teased her and reached over to kiss her good-bye before he and Micah was finally able to leave.


	13. Chapter 13

Answered Prayers

Chapter 13

Micah stared out the window as houses, trees, and buildings passed by. A few people were walking both ways as she sat there in silence. The radio was playing, the volume on low as a classic rock song played. Dean stopped at a stop sign as a few cars were passing by in front of them. Micah looked out her window watching people go by, crossing in front of them and crossing at the intersection perpendicular.

There was a tall, thin man standing on the corner looking a little out of place. He wore a trench coat kind of like Dean's angel friend but this trench coat was a dark brown instead with the collar up and wore a fedora on his head. His hair was a short blond color and he had a scruffy look to him on his face. The man glanced over to notice Micah was watching him and saw his eyes widen when he saw her. By that point, the intersection was clear and Dean had driven away. Micah followed him with her eyes until she couldn't anymore which Dean noticed.

"See something, Mic?" he asked her.

Micah turned around to look at her adoptive father and shook her head before looking back out the window. Dean looked back through the rear-view mirror to see what she could be looking at but couldn't see anything. The man was gone.

Eventually, Dean pulled into the salvage yard and parked in front of the faded blue house, sliding out. Micah scooted over to his side, clutching her zebra to her and slid down from the seat and moved out of the way so he could shut the door.

As they walked up to the front door of the house, Micah slid her hand into Dean's and gave it a squeeze as her eyes scanned around the salvage yard, at all the broken cars.

Dean looked down at the little girl and stroked her hand with his thumb, "It's okay, Mic. There's nothing to be afraid of. Uncle Bobby is a nice man. In fact he used to take care of me and Sam when we were kids. You might even say he adopted us like your mom and I adopted you." He smiled at Micah.

Micah looked up at him, confused. "What adopted mean?"

Dean stopped walking to kneel to her level, still holding Micah's hand, "Adopted means taking a kid in who isn't yours and become their mom or dad like how your mom and I took you in and became your mom and dad, does that make sense?"

Micah nodded. "Was your mommy and daddy mean too?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head, sadly, now thinking about his own parents and how much he really missed them. "No, they loved me very much and took care of me the best way they could. When I was four, there was a fire in Sam's room when he was only a baby. Sam got out thanks to our dad, who passed him off to me to carry outside but my mom didn't make it."

"What about your daddy?" Micah looked like she wanted to cry for Dean.

"He made it out too. My dad lived many years after that until Sam and I grew up. You know those black-eyed monsters you're afraid of?"

She nodded.

"Well one of them had gotten my dad, only this one had yellow eyes," Dean continued to explain. "He did it to save me though. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here to be your dad." He smiled at Micah when he said the last part.

A tear escaped Micah's right eye and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I sorry, Daddy," she sniffed.

"For what, Mic?" he asked, wrapping his own arms around her.

"You wost your mommy and daddy," she replied.

Dean smiled at that. "It's okay, Mic. Uncle Bobby took very good care of me after that," he assured her.

Micah stepped back to look at her adoptive father. "Maybe your mommy and daddy is wit Granma and they watching over us togeter," she said.

"Maybe," he shrugged. Dean may have known firsthand that wasn't what heaven was like but he wasn't going to ruin it for his little girl. It was amazing Micah still had so much innocence after what she experienced the past year.

Micah smiled, "I gwad your daddy save you, Daddy. I wove you this much," and she held her arms out as far as she could.

"Thanks, Mic," he told her and brought her back into his arms to hold her tight which was then interrupted by an "awww." Dean and Micah looked over to see Bobby standing there on the front porch.

Dean stood up, trying to compose himself to his tough guy stature, clearing his throat, "How long have you…" he cleared his throat into his right fist. "…been standing there?"

"Oh, not long at all," Bobby shrugged. Dean blew a sigh of relief until he continued, "But I heard you two from inside. So adorable, Daddy," he teased the young man.

Dean walked closer to him with a small smirk. "It's so not funny," he muttered.

"I didn't say it was funny, I said it was adorable," Bobby laughed.

"Okay, are you through? 'Cause last I'd checked we were here for Micah, not to tease me."

"All right," he gave in and motioned back towards the house. "Come on in, you two." Dean led Micah inside who was squeezing his hand again. Dean sworn he was starting to lose feeling in his fingers already.

"Well, I tried to find something on this burn of hers," Bobby said as they walked inside his study, "Haven't found anything yet."

Dean noticed a stack of books over on the desk with three open. "Do you think it could be witchcraft?" he asked, taking a wild guess.

Bobby shrugged, "Possibly. I'd like to take a look at it though. Maybe seeing it will jog the old noggin." He walked over and patted the edge of the desk, "Sit her up here."

He nodded and lifted Micah up to sit her on the edge of the desk. She held onto Dean's hands as he pulled them back to his side as she stared at the strange man she just met. "It's okay, Mic," Dean assured her, "Uncle Bobby won't hurt you, I promise." Micah continued to eye the older man as he picked up a magnifying glass from inside one of the drawers of the desk.

Bobby walked around the desk and over to where Micah was sitting. Micah got scared and inched back, towards Dean, grabbing onto his arm and dug her nails into his skin.

"Micah, relax, sweetheart," Dean continued to assure the little girl. "Uncle Bobby's just gonna look inside your ear, just like the doctor did earlier. There's nothing to be afraid of, I promise." He was trying to ignore the pain coming from his arm to focus on Micah. Guess neither he nor Jo figured about trimming her fingernails yet.

Micah shut her eyes at the floor as Bobby bent over to look inside her ear, shining a flashlight on it as he looked through the magnifying glass.

"Well, what do you think?" Dean asked, looking between Bobby and Micah.

"It looks like an ordinary burn to me," Bobby replied. "If it is something supernatural, then someone did a hell of a job covering it up to make it look like a cigarette burn."

"But why would someone want to send demons after a kid for?"

He shrugged, "Beats me. Maybe her parents were that sick in the head."

"No, I saw them. Her father anyway, and he didn't seem the type to be into the supernatural or even mess with demons," Dean told him.

"Well, I guess I could keep reading, see what I can find on it. Don't know if I would really find anything though," said Bobby. "Cas didn't say anything else that could be helpful?"

"No," he shrugged, prying Micah's fingers away from his arm, "all he said was that it could only be removed by what gave her the mark in the first place and Micah doesn't remember getting it either."

"Do you think she could have been born with it?" Bobby asked.

Dean looked up from his arm, trinkets of blood oozing from his arm where Micah had a grip on him, "You think?"

Bobby walked over to the kitchen, "If she doesn't remember getting it. Or maybe she got it when she was an infant." He grabbed a hand towel and brought it back to Dean. "I would think something like that would stick out like a sore thumb, to a kid."

"Don't tell me that," Dean moaned as he took the towel and wrapped it around his arm. His arm wasn't gushing out blood, they were merely paper cuts but it was still enough Dean had to apply pressure to stop it. "It's bad enough to do something like that to a child but a baby? Come on, that's even worse."

"That's just my guess." Bobby looked down at Micah who was still watching him. "Poor kid, no one deserves crap like that, especially a kid," he looked over at Dean again.

Dean looked down at his daughter, "I know. The kid's basically terrified of her own shadow." He looked up at Bobby again as well, "Thanks for trying, Bobby. Hopefully we can figure something out about all this."

"Well, like I said, I'll keep looking and let ya know if I find anything."

"Next weekend we're having a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for Micah since her birthday wasn't that long ago. You're welcome to come," Dean told him.

"Sure, nothing says Saturday like a huge room full of screaming kids having fun," he chuckled.

Dean smiled at Micah, "Yup. Did you hear that, Uncle Bobby's coming to your party, can you tell him thank you?"

Micah continued to stare at the man and turned to hide her face in Dean's side.

"That's okay, she can tell me next week at her party," Bobby assured Dean.

Dean unwrapped the towel to check on how his arm was doing. "Kid, we are trimming your nails tonight," he said with a small laugh.

Micah looked over at her adoptive father when she heard that. "I in twouble, Daddy?" she whispered, softly.

"No, you're not in trouble," he assured her, shaking his head. "Hey, what do you say we pick up some ice cream on the way home? Just like I promised."

"But Mommy say no eating out," she reminded him.

"We'll pick up some ice cream for after dinner. Maybe we can make ice cream sundaes, how does that sound?"

"What is a ice cream sundae?" Micah asked.

"Oh, it's super good. It has ice cream, and chocolate sauce, bananas, sprinkles, and whatever else you want," Dean told her, happily. "So what do you say? You want to try it?"

Micah nodded, excited now.

Bobby took the towel from Dean. "You kids have fun then and I will call if I find anything."

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean told him, lifting Micah down to her feet. Grabbing his jacket, he and Micah left the house, going out to where he parked the Impala.

On the way home, Dean stopped at the mini mart and picked up a quart of chocolate ice cream that Micah picked out and let her help pick out the toppings too. Micah wanted cookie dough bites and M&Ms and Dean grabbed the usual sundae toppings.

When they returned home, Micah wanted to help carry in the stuff. Dean handed her a bag he thought was light enough for her to carry and took everything else inside. She ran inside to the kitchen, shouting, "Mommy, Mommy, we're home!" She hadn't noticed Jo was in the dining room where the pool table was.

"She's right here, Mic," Dean called after her with a laugh.

Micah ran back and over to Jo. "Mommy, Daddy say we make ice cream sundaes after dinner," she told her adoptive mother, excitedly and showed her inside the bag where the ice cream was.

Jo was kneeled to her level. She smiled at the little girl, "He did, did he? That sounds great, sweetheart."

"You must like ice cream sundaes," Ellen spoke up from the other side of the pool table, leaning on the stick.

Micah jumped, not noticing Ellen was there and turned a shade of red, not saying anything else.

Dean came to Micah's rescue, "She never had an ice cream sundae before."

Ellen smiled over at Micah, "Well, you're in for a treat then. Ice cream sundaes are very good."

"Speaking of food, is dinner ready yet? I'm starving," Dean said, heading for the kitchen.

Jo placed the cue stick down on the table and followed after him, "Yeah, we were just waiting for you and Micah. How did things go at Bobby's? Did he figure out what that burn is in her ear?"

"Nope," Dean set the grocery bags on the breakfast counter. "He doesn't know what it is. It just looks a like an ordinary cigarette burn to him."

Micah came into the kitchen as well and held the bag up to Dean, "Here, Daddy."

Dean took the bag from her, thanking Micah and took it out of the bag to take it over to the freezer, "He's gonna keep looking though."

"So let me get this straight," Ellen said, walking over to stir the chili that was being kept warm in a crockpot, "Someone burned something into a little girl's ear?"

Dean nodded, "And whatever it is attracts demons to her."

"I heard many things from hunters over the years but I never heard of something like that before," she shrugged.

"Nobody has, not even Bobby," he said and offered to serve everyone, ladling chili into bowls and passing them to Jo who set the first one on the table for Micah.

After dinner, Dean cleaned up the kitchen again. Micah wanted to help him this time so Dean let her place the dishes inside the dishwasher after he rinsed the food off. Once the kitchen was clean, he got the ice cream back out and showed Micah how to make the sundaes, letting her put what she wanted in hers. Micah had so much fun making the sundaes with her adoptive father that she wanted to make everyone else's as well. So with Dean's help, everyone got a bowl, specifically made for them and Micah loved hers too.


	14. Chapter 14

Answered Prayers

Chapter 14

Saturday morning, Dean took Micah to a sporting goods store and bought a real soccer ball and took her over to the park using one of the soccer goals to help Micah practice using a real net. With Dean as goalie, Micah practiced trying to kick the ball into the net. He started out going easy on her but Micah was doing so good Dean decided to test her limits and challenged her. Micah still did very well and after an hour or so, he really wanted to get his daughter on some kind of team so she could play a real game of soccer and hopefully that would get her socialized with other kids her age.

They returned home around eleven-thirty and Dean made them lunch. He made Micah a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and made one of his favorite sandwiches for himself. Once they were done eating, they placed their dishes in the sink. Micah wanted to kick the soccer ball around some more but Dean was exhausted and told her she could go play in the backyard by herself. While Micah played outside, he watched her through the window in the living room as he surfed through the channels on the TV for something to watch. Jo eventually came in and joined him on the couch, cuddling with each other.

Around one in the afternoon, Sam walked in the front door, dropping his bag by the front door for now as he headed for the living room where he had heard the TV going. "Hey," he greeted them.

"Hey, Sam," Jo replied with a smile.

Dean also replied, "Hey, Sammy."

Sam walked over and sat down in the arm chair. "How's the kid doing?" he asked.

"The kid has a name you know," Dean reminded his brother, looking over at him from the couch.

"Right, sorry, Dean," Sam replied, trying to sound sincere.

"Micah's talking now, to me and Jo, anyway."

"So her aunt really said you two could keep her?" he asked.

Dean nodded, "She asked Micah if it was what she wanted."

"But didn't you have to sign any paperwork or anything? Go through the whole legal stuff?"

"No," Dean shrugged. "She just said I could take Micah and go. Her aunt even gave us all her paperwork."

"Really?" Sam was amazed to hear that Micah's aunt just handed over all of her paperwork that easily. "Did her aunt probe you or ask you anything? If she really cared about the kid, uh, I mean, Micah, then I would think she wouldn't give her niece to someone she didn't even know."

"Micah is a shy, closed in child, though," Jo pointed out. "If Micah wanted to go with Dean and felt comfortable with him then that would be a clear sign that Dean is a good guy who wouldn't harm her."

Castiel appeared, standing on the other side of the arm chair from the couch.

Sam looked up at the angel. "Cas? What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised to see him.

Dean shut off the TV by the remote and tossed it on the coffee table, "He's here for you."

Sam looked over at his brother, "Me? Why me?"

"Cas says he can help figure out what's been wrong with you lately," he explained.

"How's that?"

"You might want to find something to bite on," Castiel stated and started rolling up his sleeve.

Sam stared at the angel as if he was crazy. "What are you gonna do?" Sam asked.

"I am going to reach inside and touch your soul," the angel explained.

Sam tried to refuse but Dean rushed up and grabbed him back down in the arm chair. Dean pinned his brother down as Castiel walked over to them. Very slowly, Castiel slid his right arm inside Sam's lower torso, making Sam cry out in extreme pain. Sam struggled against Dean who wasn't doing so well either, having to listen to his little brother in so much pain.

Finally, Castiel pulled out his arm and rolled his sleeves back down as Sam gasped for air. Jo headed over to the kitchen to wet a dish rag and fill a glass of water for Sam, bringing it back to him. Sam thanked her, taking the rag from her too to wipe off his face.

"Well," Dean was the first to speak, standing up straight again to look over at Castiel. "Find anything?"

"No," Castiel answered.

Dean sighed, looking away. Two nothings in two days were not sitting too well with him, considering they still hadn't found anything on Micah's ear.

"So if there's nothing there then why is Sam acting like a jerk?" Jo asked.

"No, I mean I didn't find anything," the angel repeated.

Dean stood up straight. "What are you getting at, Cas?"

"There's no soul in there," he explained. "It's gone."

Dean and Jo stared at the angel.

"If Sam doesn't have his soul then where is it?" Dean asked no one in particular.

"It could be still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer," Castiel said.

"That would explain a lot," said Jo. "Why Sam had been acting so heartless and what happened on that last hunt."

"So how do we get Sam's soul back?" Dean asked.

"Getting Sam's soul back could be damaging to Sam," said Castiel. "It's been down in that cage for over a year. There's no telling what could have happened."

"We have to do something, we can't just leave it down there," Dean shrugged. "You pulled me out can't you do the same for Sam?"

"It took several angels to get to you, Dean."

At that point, Micah walked in the back door, drenched in sweat. The front of her hair was sticking to her forehead. She walked over to Jo who was standing the closest to the back door and patted her leg when Micah noticed Sam was sitting there. Micah quickly dashed over to Dean and tried to hide behind his legs.

Dean ran his fingers through her hair. "Why don't you go upstairs and play in your room for a while, Mic?" he suggested. "The adults are talking right now about some important adult stuff."

Micah refused to look up. She was huddled behind his legs, still hiding from Sam. Sam was still the mean giant to her and Micah didn't like that he had returned.

Jo stepped in. "She looks like she could use a bath actually," she told Dean. "Why don't I take her upstairs why you three finish talking about getting Sam's soul back?"

"You don't understand. What Lucifer could be doing to his soul might destroy Sam if you put that thing back inside him," Castiel said once again.

"Cas is right," Sam agreed. "Maybe we should just leave it alone."

Dean looked over at his brother, surprised of what he just heard. "Don you want your soul back, Sam? I mean, you're an uncle now. Wouldn't you like to care about Micah? Have any feeling for her?" Dean still hasn't figured out that Micah was terrified of his brother. Micah acted shy around everyone so it never really clicked on his mind. Micah was afraid of everyone but Sam being soulless right now made Micah very afraid.

Sam shrugged, "Dean, she's not my niece. I don't consider her apart of my family. I've tried to have compassion for her but I can't feel anything. I thought about the life she lived through and know that it was tragic but I just don't feel anything."

"You would if you had your soul. I know you, Sam. You've always tolerated kids better than I could. I know Micah would like you if you had it," Dean tried reasoning with his brother.

While the brothers argued back and forth about finding a way to reclaim Sam's soul from Lucifer's cage, Jo walked over to peel Micah from her adopted father's legs. Micah held on as best as she could.

Dean stopped for a moment to firmly, but gently unhook her arms from his legs and kneeled down to her level. "Micah," he said also in a firm but gentle tone, "go with your mom to take a bath. You've been playing outside and you stink."

Micah was staring over at Sam, sucking on her lower lip.

Dean looked back over his shoulder at Sam then forward again. "Sam's not gonna hurt you. Just go with your mom, Micah," he told her. Micah shook her head and tried to wrap her arms around his neck but Dean took a hold of her wrists and gently held them away. "Micah Isaiah, I really hate to have to be stern with you so soon. You will be upstairs and Sam will be down here with me. Now go."

Micah started to tear up as Jo took ahold of her upper arms and gently led her out of the living room and upstairs to the hall bathroom to run a bath for her. While she was filling up the tub, Micah removed her clothes, removing her tennis shoes first. Once the tub was almost halfway filled, Micah stepped in and sat down. Jo turned the water off when the water level was at a decent level.

While Jo lathered her hair, she noticed Micah was staring down at her lap. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Jo asked her.

"I a bad girl," Micah replied, sadly, not looking up at her adopted mother.

"No, sweetheart, you're not a bad girl. Don't ever think that," she said, stopping in mid-scrub.

"Daddy is mad at me." A sniffle came out once Micah said it out loud. She really loved her new father and thought she had disappointed him. Micah couldn't even look Jo in the eye. "I will get it now just wike my o-ter daddy."

Jo shook her head. "Daddy is not mad at you, I promise, Micah. He was just being stern with you so you will listen. Daddy didn't want you around to hear the things we were talking about. Something is wrong with Sam that we have to fix and it would scare you if you heard what's going on," she explained to the little girl as simple as she could. "Sam is really a nice guy but ever since something happened, it made him a new person so your dad and his friend, Cas has to find a way to get the old Sam back. So they need time to think about what to do. Does that make sense?"

Micah looked up at her adopted mother, into her green eyes, forcing herself. "Daddy not mad?" she asked.

Jo shook her head, "No, Daddy is not mad. He loves you and nothing you do would make us mad." She continued lathering Micah's hair. "If you make bad choices we might be disappointed in you. That's life though and we all make bad choices. We just know what not to do for next time, right?"

"Will I ever be in twouble?"

"If you make bad choices like throwing a tantrum or yell at us or slam a door, yes but you won't be punished like the way your other mom and dad punished you. We would send you to your room to think about your behavior."

"But will I get a spanking?" Micah continued her interrogation.

Jo finished lathering and rinsed her hands in the water. "Maybe one or two swats on your bottom with our hand but that would depend on your behavior. No belt or anything else though, okay?"

She nodded.

"We don't think you're perfect, sweetheart. You're bound to make mistakes. I make mistakes, Daddy makes mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Granma say God don't make mitakes but my o-ter daddy say He did when he made me," Micah told her.

"Your granma is right, you were not a mistake. You were born so Daddy and I could have you as a daughter," Jo smiled and filled a cup with water before pouring it over Micah's head.

Micah quickly shut her eyes so shampoo wouldn't run into her eyes. Jo did that once more before dropping the cup in the water and lathered a blue washcloth with some sweet-smelling body wash so she could wash Micah's body.

"I have to go into work tomorrow so I will be gone for most of the day," Jo explained as she washed her shoulders.

"What is work?" Micah asked, curious.

"It's my job. I clean tables, and serve food and drinks to people. Have you ever been to a restaurant before where you ask for food and they bring it to you?"

Micah thought about it, at first, as she looked up at the ceiling with just her eyes before shaking her head.

"I'll take you when it's not so crowded and busy," Jo smiled. "But my job is how we get money to pay bills and for food."

"Is Daddy going to work?" she asked.

"No, Daddy's not going back to work until Monday. That's the day after tomorrow."

"Are you staying home while Daddy is at work?" Micah continued to ask.

"If we haven't found someone to watch you then yes, I will be staying home with you." Jo was washing her back by now, running it along her skin. "Would it be all right if Uncle Bobby watched you for the day while me and Daddy go to work? He's super nice, I promise. We wouldn't leave you with him if he wasn't. Daddy and I don't have a lot of choices for someone to watch you."

Micah held both her arms out in front of her, gripping the tub in her tiny hands as she leaned back. Her eyes were focused on the side of the tub but she did not say anything.

"Uncle Bobby is really fun too, Micah. Daddy says he used to take him to the park when Daddy was a kid, and played with him," Jo continued washing the rest of Micah's body. It took a few minutes before she was finished and picked up the cup to pour some more water, gently to rinse off the soap. "Just try one day at Uncle Bobby's and if you don't like it we will figure out someone else to watch you. Can you try for us, Micah?"

She nodded, slowly, looking up at Jo.

Jo stood up and pulled a towel off the towel rack. Micah stood up out of the water and allowed her adopted mother to wrap the towel around her and lift her out of the tub and onto the bath rug in front of the toilet where Jo sat down. She dried Micah off first before pulling out the plug in the drain and led her to her bedroom. While Micah stood beside her bed, shivering from the A/C, holding the towel around her, Jo grabbed some clean clothes from Micah's dresser.

"It cold, Mommy," Micah whimpered.

Jo closed the top drawer and opened the third one from the top. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm going as fast as I can," she replied, compassionately. She grabbed a pair of Micah's jeans and asked her what shirt she wanted to wear which Micah had said she wanted one of her _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan _shirts.

Once Micah was dressed, Jo suggested for her to pick up her toys that were still set up from the other day. Micah informed her adopted mother that she wanted to play some more with them so Jo told her that, that night, they were going to pick up her toys so there would be room to walk around better. Jo stood up and left the room, taking the wet towel with her and gathered up Micah's clothes from the bathroom floor before heading downstairs to the garage where the washer and dryer were kept to start a load of laundry, having to check Dean's pockets for random stuff like loose change or receipts.

Once the washer was started, Jo went back into the house and headed over to the living room. "Dean," she asked as she walked over to where the men and angel were still talking, "how many times must I tell you to empty your pockets when you take your pants off?"

Dean thought about that, looking up at the ceiling with just his eyes from where he was sitting on the edge of the couch, "Uh…"

Jo just rolled her eyes at him and tossed a couch pillow at him which Dean caught, ducking his head so it hit his chest instead. "So, what did I miss?" she asked, sitting on the opposite side of the couch from him.

Dean looked down at the floor before exchanging looks with his brother and Castiel. He looked over at Jo, "Since we haven't found anything new on Micah's burn, Sam and I are gonna go talk to Samuel about what he remembers about returning from heaven, to see if it could help us with Sam's problem."

"What about Micah?" she asked.

"I'll only be gone a few days," he assured her. "I promise, okay?"

"It's not me I'm worried about. Micah got upset because she thought you were angry with her. How she gonna react when she finds out you're leaving?"

Dean looked at the floor again and closed his eyes. He really didn't want to leave Micah like that but what with finding out Micah has that burn and Sam missing his soul, he, Sam, and Castiel figured there could be a link between each other, otherwise, Dean wouldn't go. He looked up again, rubbing his hands together, slowly, "I'll talk to her."

Micah moved the little Lego people, making them talk to each other when there was a knock on her open bedroom door. She looked up to see Dean standing there, smiling at her.

"Hey, Mic," he told her. "Can we talk?"

Micah was backing away on her hands and knees, whimpering. "I in twouble?" she asked.

"No, no," Dean shook his head. "You're not in any trouble." He walked into the room, stepping over Micah's toys and sat down near her, cross-legged. "I heard you were upset because you thought I was angry with you."

Micah watched her adopted father, carefully. "Mommy say you not mad," she whimpered.

He shook his head again, "I wasn't, I promise. I know you were scared. When your mom or I tell you we're talking and it's not something meant for children's ears, you need to listen to us when we say go play in your room or go play outside. We're just trying to protect you, okay. I didn't like having to sound like that and I tried my best not to lose my temper because I know it would have scared you even more. I would never want that. I want you to know that I love you and will protect you, not hurt you. Understand?"

Micah nodded, sitting on her legs.

Dean held up his arms towards the little girl. "Can I get a hug then?" he smiled at her.

Still watching him, carefully, Micah leaned forward and slowly crawled over towards Dean. She flinched back when she was a few inches from him but continued when he didn't move. Dean just continued to sit there, holding his arms out, smiling at her. Micah climbed into his lap and wrapped her own arms around his neck, tensing up when she felt his arms touch, wrapping them around her.

"It's okay, Mic," he assured her, softly. "I'm not hurting you." Dean kissed the side of her head. "I would never hurt you, okay? I love you very much and never would I be angry with you either."

Micah looked up at the man. Dean could still see fear in her small, blue-green eyes and it broke his heart. "Mommy say I will get a spanking if I in twouble," she whimpered.

"Yes, but I think I need to explain what actual trouble is," he told her. "When you are in trouble, it means you did something you shouldn't have, like, uh…" Dean thought of an example. "Like, if you ask for a cookie right before dinner and one of us says no, not until after dinner. You decide to get a cookie anyway. That's when you'll be in trouble. Or if we ask you to clean your room and we have to ask fifty times and you still hadn't done it, that's when you will be in trouble. Spilling something on accident or doing anything on accident will never get you into trouble. Do you understand? It's okay if you don't, you can ask me anything, Mic."

"What if I say the wrong ting?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Sometime, old Daddy don't wike what I say and hit me wight here." Micah pointed to her left cheek with her pointer finger.

He shook his head, "Both me and your mom would never hit you there, and we definitely wouldn't hit you for saying the wrong thing. The only thing we don't want you saying is bad words which I'm sure your other parents probably said several times around you. The first time will be just a warning but if you keep saying it, your mouth will be washed out with soap. When you get a little older, I'll go easy on ya with some bad words but right now, I don't want to hear any of them come out your mouth."

"I don't know what bad words is," Micah admitted.

"They're called swear words, hell, damn, ass, bitch. I'm gonna try not to say them around you too so you won't be tempted to say them."

"What does tem-ted mean?" she asked.

"Tempted," he corrected her. "It means want to do something, like right now, I am tempted to…" Dean held up his hands like claws, "…tickle you," and grabbed at Micah's sides, tickling her, hoping she would laugh this time. He tickled her all over her waist, including her stomach. To Dean's delight, Micah did giggle a little this time, sliding halfway off his lap, on her back against him, her shirt rising up to reveal her stomach. Dean lifted her up in his arms and blew on it, making Micah giggle some more, raising his knees to help hold her up.

Micah was tossing her head back, her giggles turning into laughter, melting Dean's heart. She kicked her legs as he continued for a little bit longer before lowering her back down, in his lap but still held her sideways, smiling at her. Micah stared up at him, smiling too. "I wove you, Daddy."

"I wove you, too," he mimicked her, teasing Micah, harmlessly. "No matter where I am, I always will."

Micah continued to smile at her adopted father. "You the best daddy," she told him.

"I am, am I?" Dean pulled his arm out from under her legs to lay back, taking Micah with him to lay her on his chest. Unfortunately, he lied back on the fire station and Micah didn't like that.

"No, Daddy," she told him, suddenly, close to crying, climbing off of him and tried to push Dean off.

Dean sat up to look behind him, "What's wrong, Mic?"

Micah was staring at the destroyed fire station as tears ran down her face. "The people is dead and they're not coming back." She flopped down on her stomach and cried into her folded arms. "They not coming back! They not coming back!"

"You can rebuild it, Mic. It's okay." Dean reached over and picked up one of the Lego people. "Look, this guy's still smiling. "He's okay."

Micah shook her head, violently, not lifting it. "No, he dead! He can never come back now and protect people now."

Dean stared down at the little girl, not sure what she meant. He leaned forward and lifted Micah up to pull her back on his lap, "Shh, shh, it's okay, Micah." Dean brought her into another hug, letting her cry on his right shoulder as she balled her eyes out, rubbing her back up and down. "Micah, what's wrong, kiddo? Why can't the Lego guys be alive again?"

But Micah just continued to cry, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Come on, Mic," he urged Micah. "Talk to me, kiddo. What's wrong? Does this have something to do with your grandmother?"

Micah would not utter a word.

Sam came upstairs, stopping in Micah's doorway. "Dean, come on," he told his brother. "We have to go."

Dean looked up at his brother, "I'm talking to Micah at the moment, Sam," he said. "Give me ten more minutes."

When she heard Sam's voice, Micah looked back at him and squeezed Dean's neck, shutting her eyes tight.

Dean noticed. "Sam, go wait downstairs," he told his brother, nodding towards the stairs.

Sam sighed and headed downstairs.

When Sam was gone, Dean turned back to Micah. "Sam's gone now, it's okay," he assured her.

Micah lifted her head and stole a peek for herself, looking behind her at her doorway.

"Hey. Can you tell me what was making you so upset about the Lego guy?"

Micah stared at him. "He dead," she whimpered, pitifully.

"Well, yeah but he's a toy. You have the power to bring him back to life. See," Dean reached over and grabbed the Lego person and showed it to Micah. "Look, he's smiling at you." Dean changed his voice to make it seem like the Lego person was talking, "It's okay, Micah. A giant can't crush me. I'm the strongest Lego guy ever. Hey, wait a minute. Who stole my car?"

Micah couldn't help giggle at the toy as Dean tried to make it comical for her, pretending the Lego person was looking around for his car. "I know." Micah climbed out of Dean's lap and crawled over to where the extra Lego pieces were. She started building a car, making sure to include wheels before bringing it over to where Dean was still sitting, facing the other way again. "Here is his car," Micah held up the car she just made.

"Oh boy," Dean said still using the Lego person's voice, "I can't wait to drive that. That's an awesome car."

Micah took the Lego person from him and placed it inside the car before pushing it around the floor. Dean was glad he could make everything better, at least for now. But he still had to tell her he was leaving for a few days and that was the hard part.

"Hey, Mic," he spoke, using his normal, speaking voice.

Micah looked up at her adopted father.

He hesitated at first, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Sweetheart, I have to leave for a few days but I promise I will be back as soon as I can, okay? Your mom is gonna stay with you though. She's not leaving." Dean stopped, letting it all sink in and waited for some kind of reaction, expecting the worse.

Micah stared at him for a moment before she spoke, "You're leaving?"

Dean nodded. "Not for good, I swear. Sam and I have to go meet with our grandfather about something."

"It about grown-up stuff?" she asked.

"Yes, it's about grown-up stuff. Stuff you wouldn't understand, okay."

"But…" Tears were filling Micah's eyes again. "Who will protect me from the monsters and bad dweams?"

"Your mom will protect you. Your mom's very brave and tough, maybe even tougher than me," Dean tried to convince his little girl. "She's taken me down a few times." He grinned when he said that.

"I want you, Daddy. I wove Mommy but I want you," she told him. A tear had escaped and was slowly running down her right cheek.

Dean reached over and lifted Micah back into his lap. "It'll be fine, I promise. Trust me, I don't want to leave you either. I will be here before Saturday though for your party. I'm not gonna miss that."

Micah just shook her head at him. "Don't go, Daddy. Don't go," she pleaded.

Dean's heart broke. He moved Micah to touch her forehead to his, shutting his eyes.

"Don't go."

Every ounce of his body was screaming for Dean to say he wasn't going to go but sooner or later, there would come a time when he wouldn't have a choice. A tear ran down Dean's cheek as he continued to hold his little girl. "I'm sorry, Mic. I have to."

Dean kissed the top of her forehead and then stood up, carefully, shifting Micah to his right side before carrying her downstairs where he passed her off to Jo. Micah reached out for her adopted father with her arm outstretched. Dean took her hand into his and held it for a moment, kissing it before rubbing her hand with his thumb. While he continued holding Micah's hand, he leaned in to give Jo a kiss good-bye.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Dean told Jo, softly.

"I know you will, Dean. Micah and I will be fine, I promise," she assured him.

Dean stared at her, forcing a smile for Jo. "I'll call tonight to check in like I always do, to say good night." He turned to Micah again, "I love you, okay. I'm not leaving because you did something wrong. I'll be back, I promise." Dean leaned over and gave her another kiss on the forehead before letting go of her hand. He turned around and walked towards the front door, stealing a look at her.

Jo walked Dean outside to the Impala where he slid inside, shutting his door and started the engine. He looked over where she was standing on the edge of the porch and his heart crumbled when he saw Micah reaching for him again with tears on her face. Taking their time was only making it harder on both of them so Dean pulled out of the driveway and drove away as quick as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

Answered Prayers

Chapter 15

After Dean left, Micah cried for two whole hours as Jo tried to comfort her. She tried putting on cartoons, she tried offering something to eat, and Jo tried to see if maybe Micah would like to kick the soccer ball around some more but Micah didn't want anything but Dean.

Micah sniffed from Jo's right shoulder, "I want Daddy."

"Daddy will be back," Jo tried to assure her, holding Micah on her lap while sitting on the couch. "Not today but soon. He's not gone forever."

"Granma say she be back too. I never sawed her again," she whimpered.

"Nothing bad will happen to Daddy, okay?" Jo rubbed the little girl's back up and down, trying to comfort her. The soothing motions along with Jo's voice as she started sing, _You are my Sunshine_ eventually made Micah's eyelids heavy and soon she was fast asleep. Jo then laid her down on the couch next to her and covered Micah up with a blanket that was along the back.

Micah slept for a couple hours, waking up around four-thirty, hungry. For dinner, Jo made Micah a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Is Daddy home yet?" Micah asked at the table, waiting patiently for her dinner.

"No, not yet, sweetheart but he'll call tonight at bedtime to say good night," Jo told her. She flipped the sandwich over so the other side would cook.

"I want Daddy to come home," she started whimpering again.

"And he will, just not tonight."

Micah laid her head down on her folded arms as tears filled her eyes again. When the sandwich was done, Jo put it on a plate, cutting it in half and placed it in front of Micah, reaching down to kiss the top of her head.

"We'll have fun together, though," Jo smiled at her.

Micah picked up one of the sandwich halves and bit off it. Jo asked what she wanted to drink and poured Micah a glass of orange juice before finding something to eat herself.

After they finished eating, Jo got Micah ready for bed and curled up on hers and Dean's bed to watch a movie. The Disney movie, _Meet the Robinsons _was playing on the Disney Channel just starting so they decided to watch it. Micah lied next to her adopted mother the whole time, not saying a word or laughing at the funny parts. In fact, the TV was the only thing to make a sound. She got scared towards the end when the boulder hat took over and started destroying the city, hiding her face in Jo's side.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Jo comforted her, running her hand along Micah's hair.

Jo's phone rang on the nightstand, on her side. She reached over and picked it up, looking at the screen on the front. She gasped, excitedly to get Micah's attention, "Look who's calling, Micah. It's Daddy." Jo flipped the phone open and handed it to the little girl who had bolted up to sit on her legs, facing her adopted mother.

Micah took the phone and held it to her right ear. "Hi, Daddy," she greeted her adopted father, excitedly as well.

_"Hey, kiddo," _Dean said on the other line. _"How are ya?"_

"I miss you," Micah told him. "Are you coming home yet?"

_"No, not yet, kiddo but I will. Don't worry, okay? What are you doing? I hear something over there. Are you watching TV?"_

Micah turned around to face the TV, "The hat got bigger and is breaking the city. It's scar-wee, Daddy."

_ "It is, huh? Well, just remember it's just a movie. Hats can't get bigger and destroy cities," _he assured her. _"What else did you do together after I left?"_

"I took a nap for a long time," she said.

Dean laughed, _"Oh, are you getting lazy like your old man?"_

Micah was confused, "What old man?"

_"Me, 'your old man' is just another way of saying Dad," _he explained to her in a way she would understand.

"Oh, wight," she replied. "Because you old, Daddy."

_"Come on, you're not supposed to agree with me, Mic. I'm not that old," _he continued to laugh.

"How old are you?" Micah asked, curious.

_ "I'm only thirty-three."_

Micah's eyes widened, "That's really old, Daddy."

There was a short pause before Dean responded, _"Thanks, Mic. Thanks for that. Thanks for making me feel bad now."_

Micah stared down at the bed, sadly. "I don't want you to feel bad, Daddy. I sorry," she told him.

_"It's okay, Mic. I know you didn't mean to hurt my feelings,"_ he assured her. _"You being a good girl for your mom?"_

"Yes, Daddy."

_"That's good. I love you, okay, Mic."_

"I wove you too, Daddy," she replied.

_"Put your mom on the phone,"_ he told her.

Micah handed the phone to Jo, "Here, Mommy. Daddy wants you."

Jo smiled, taking the phone from her, "Thank you, sweetheart."

Micah turned back around and continued watching the movie. The battle was over by now and the characters were saying good-bye. She lied on her stomach with her jaw in her hands as her adopted parents talked on the phone.

For the most part, Micah liked the movie especially when she heard the word, adopt, a few times, remembering what Dean had told her about what adoption was and was glad that the main character had gotten adopted in the end. In fact, as the movie rolled into the ending credits, Micah stood up on the bed and jumped on her adopted mother, knocking the wind out of her.

"Mommy, Woois got adopted, just wike me. He got a mommy and daddy now too," she told Jo, happily. Micah tried to say Lewis but it came out "Woois."

"That's awesome, sweetheart," Jo told her.

"Can I talk to Daddy again? I want to tell him too."

"In a minute," she replied. "Daddy and I are still talking. Here, want me to find something else for you to watch?" Jo picked up the remote from the nightstand and opened the TV guide menu, scrolling through the channels, "Do you want _Spongebob_, or…_My Little Pony_?"

Micah got excited when she said, _My Little Pony_ and said she wanted to watch it. While Jo finished talking to Dean on the phone, Micah watched the cartoon. When it was over, Micah got back on the phone to tell her adopted father the happy ending before telling each other good-night, hanging up. Jo had turned off the TV while Micah was on the phone so when the phone conversation was over, she announced it was Micah's bedtime.

"Is Daddy coming home tomorrow?" Micah asked as they walked down the hall to her bedroom.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Jo told her. "If they finish then yes, Daddy will come home tomorrow but probably not until after you go to bed tomorrow night."

Micah looked at the floor sadly as they walked down the hall. She was still wearing Dean's old shirt to bed instead of regular kid pajamas. Jo had offered to buy her pajamas but Micah would rather wear Dean's shirt instead.

Jo flipped on Micah's bedroom light and remembered they still had to pick up her room. "Let's pick up your room before we go to bed," she suggested. "Does the Legos have a box they go in?"

Micah stepped over her toys and went over to where the Lego bag was. Together, the two of them took the Legos apart and placed them inside. Once the Legos were picked up, they focused on taking the train tracks apart next. They had to put some in the box the new ones came in that didn't fit in the box Micah had for her tracks before. When all the toys were picked up, Micah climbed into bed. Jo laid with her while she sang to her, wishing they had a book she could read to Micah. Micah fell asleep during _You'll be in my Heart_.

The next day, Jo took Micah to the Roadhouse with her. Dean had said he wanted to take Micah over to Bobby's a couple more times so Micah could warm up to Bobby with him there before just dropping her off alone. Micah sat at the bar, drawing beside the wall while Jo bartended.

"Remember when that was you?" Ellen asked Jo, smiling over at Micah as she leaned on the bar with her other hand on her side.

Jo was pouring a couple drinks for some customers when she looked up at Micah. She smiled, looking over at her mother. "Yeah," she replied. "Sure does bring back memories."

Ellen smiled at the floor before heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," Jo stopped her.

Ellen looked back to look at her daughter. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for being supportive of mine and Dean's decision to take her in. It really means a lot."

"I can't get over how my little girl has a little girl of her own now," Ellen admitted.

Jo smiled at that and looked over at Micah as a young man walked up to the bar. "The restrooms are clean," he announced.

"Thanks, Jack," Ellen thanked the young man.

Jack was hired after Ellen reopened the Roadhouse. They had wished Ash was still around and missed the guy a lot but Jack wasn't so bad either. He wasn't a genius like Ash was but he too knew the hunting gig really well, he just chose not to be a hunter. Jack happened to look over at Micah's drawing, watching her for a moment as she drew, or tried to draw her holding hands between Dean and Jo.

The Roadhouse wasn't that busy that day. A few people, mostly hunters stopped in for a drink or quick bite before hitting the road again. The man Micah had seen on the street corner the other day walked in and sat down at the bar, on the corner.

Jo walked over to him on the other side. "What can I get you, sir?" she asked him with a smile, her hands touching the edge of the bar.

"Do you serve coffee, miss?" the man asked in a British accent.

"We sure do," she replied. "Caffeinated or regular?"

"Regular, please. Thank you," he nodded at her.

"Coming right up." Jo headed into the kitchen.

The man adjusted his hat without removing it, keeping the brim over his ears it seemed like, when Micah caught his eye. He watched her as she continued coloring a _Ni Hao, Kai-Lan_ coloring page Ellen had printed off in her office for the little girl.

Jo returned, carrying a white mug of hot coffee and placed it on the bar in front of the man. "Here you go, sir," she told him.

He jumped a little in surprise and looked at her. "Huh?" he looked down at the coffee in front of him, "oh, thank you," and took a sip. The man watched as Jo walked over to Micah, trying to listen in but Jo kept her voice down so only Micah could hear.

"You getting hungry yet, sweetheart?" Jo was asking her, brushing some hair behind Micah's left ear.

Micah nodded, looking up at her adopted mother.

"Yeah? Would you like a sandwich?"

She nodded. "Can I have peanut butter and jellee?" she asked.

"Sure, sweetheart," Jo told her and headed back into the kitchen.

Micah followed her with her eyes before looking over at the man, noticing he was watching her.

"I don't believe it," Micah heard the man say to himself.

Micah started feeling uncomfortable from the man sitting there, watching her and tried to focus on her coloring again. Ellen walked over to the bar from washing tables as she noticed the man watching her.

"Micah, sweetie," Ellen told her adopted granddaughter, staring over at the man, "Why don't you finish coloring in my office."

Micah nodded before Ellen lifted her down from the stool, tensing up from the woman's touch. Ellen set her down on her feet and grabbed all of her coloring pages and crayons, handing them to Micah before leading her through the push door.

Jo was at one of the counters, making Micah's sandwich. She looked up when she heard them come in. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"Some jerk out there was staring at her," she said.

"Who, the guy at the bar?"

"You bet, and I could see how uncomfortable it was making Micah. I'm gonna let her hang out in my office for the rest of the day." Ellen continued to lead Micah to her office and let her color at her desk, asking her not to try not to touch anything.

Micah noticed a framed photo sitting on the desk of two adults and a little girl. Ellen looked over at what she was looking at.

Ellen reached for the photo, picking it up, "This is your mom when she was a little younger than you." She kneeled down beside the chair Micah was sitting on the edge of and pointed at a younger Jo, "That's your mother there, and that's me, and that's your mother's father, your grandfather."

Micah looked at the photo, listening not saying a word. She was to a point where she wasn't hiding from Ellen anymore but Micah still wasn't talking to her yet. Jo walked in with the sandwich and a glass of orange juice, knowing that was what Micah would ask for. The little girl liked orange juice more than anything, it seemed, even milk.

Jo set the plate and glass down, moving Micah's coloring pages to the side as Ellen stood up to go tend to the customers.

"Mommy?" Micah asked when Ellen was gone.

"Yes, sweetheart?" she answered, standing beside her.

"Where your daddy?"

Jo looked away for a moment, fighting back some tears. "He's in heaven," she told the little girl.

Micah asked, "Wike Daddy's daddy?"

Jo nodded, "Mm hm."

"I sorry, Mommy," Micah held her arms up towards Jo, seeing how sad her mother was.

Jo smiled at her and leaned over to hug Micah. "Thank you, sweetheart. That's very nice of you."

"How did your daddy die?" she asked, innocently afterwards.

"Um…" Jo thought on it before she said, "I'll tell you when you're older, okay?"

Micah nodded. "Daddy tell me how his daddy die," she pointed out.

"I know, sweetheart but mine died a different way and I don't think you would understand. Now eat your sandwich."

"Okay, Mommy," Micah told her and picked up her juice first to take a drink before starting in on her sandwich.

Jo left her daughter alone and headed back out to the bar. The guy who was staring at Micah before was still sitting there.

"Excuse me, miss," he said as Jo wiped off the bar.

Jo looked up at him, "Would you like a refill on that coffee, sir?"

The man shook his head, "No, miss. Thank you. I just wanted to ask if that was your daughter sitting there."

"Yes, it was. Why do you ask?" Jo didn't understand why the man had such an interest in Micah. If he was a pedophile, there would surely be some butt to kick.

"Oh, no reason. Just curious," he replied. "What's her name, if you don't mind me asking?"

Jo started wiping down the bar again. "Her name's Micah. My fiancé and I just adopted her last week."

The man seemed intrigued, "Really? What happened to her real parents?"

"They both died. My fiancé found Micah behind the couch of her house, hiding and brought her home. Her biological aunt let us adopt her as our own," Jo explained.

"Why was she hiding behind the couch?" he continued to ask, curious.

"Her biological parents were abusive and Micah hides when she's scared."

The man's eyes were widened in shock. "Abusive? Are you sure?"

"She was covered in bruises and is scared to death of people," Jo told him.

At that, the man stood up. "Would you excuse me?" He placed a wad of cash from his trench coat pocket onto the bar and hurried from the Roadhouse, overly paying for the coffee.

Jo stared after him, strangely.

That afternoon ended up bringing in a lot more customers and Jo couldn't clock out until late that night. She was surprised that Micah was still awake by that point but figured she'd be asleep on the drive home. Jo said good night to her mother as they walked outside where she had parked.

The moon was full that night with very few small clouds passing over as Jo and Micah made their way over to Jo's car. Micah was holding on her adopted mother's hand, staying close. A noise was heard off in the distance, making Jo stop and look around, carefully. When she thought everything was fine, she continued walking, drawing nearer to her car before something jumped out of the shadows, right for Micah.

Micah screamed as a werewolf attacked her. Jo quickly unlocked her door and reached inside her car towards the glove compartment, grabbing a gun she kept in there in case of emergencies like this.

Jo jumped out of her car and cocked the loaded gun with silver bullets, pointing it at the werewolf and shot it before running over to grab Micah up. "Are you all right, Micah?" she asked, her anxiety very high, looking the little girl over, checking for scratches or bite marks. "Did it hurt you?"

Micah was crying, scared to death. "I want Daddy," she sobbed, pitifully.

Jo saw Micah's jacket had protected her for the most part but her torso wasn't so lucky, feeling something warm and wet. Jo rushed her back inside the Roadhouse, yelling for her mother.

Ellen hurried from the back. "What is it, Jo?" she asked.

"Micah was attacked by a werewolf," Jo told her mother, lifting Micah onto the bar and removed her jacket. She lifted Micah's shirt as Ellen rushed right over, to see blood covering her whole chest and stomach. "Mom, what do we do? I can't…" Jo was pretty much crying by now too, in a panicking state of the possibility of having to shoot her adopted daughter.

"Joanna Beth, you have to calm down. It may be just a scratch. Only a bite can turn a person," Ellen tried to assure her daughter. "Go grab a wet and dry towel and the first-aid kit. Hurry, sweetheart."

Jo nodded and hurried into the kitchen. Micah watched her adopted mother and reached out for her. "Mommy," she cried out for Jo.

Ellen turned back to Micah," Shh, it's okay, sweetheart. Mommy will be right back." She rubbed Micah's right shoulder to help relax her until Jo returned with the towels and first-aid kit. Ellen grabbed the wet towel first while Jo removed Micah's shirt. Ellen then started mopping up the blood, folding it once in the process.

Jo tried to relax both her and Micah, assuring Micah everything would be all right. She wasn't sure who was more afraid.

"Ow," Micah cried as Ellen ran the towel over the wound.

"I know it hurts, sweetheart but I have to clean the blood off so I can see what it is," Ellen assured her. Once she got enough blood up, Ellen examined the wound. "It's just a scratch, Jo. Did you check anywhere else?"

"I looked everywhere but it was too dark to really see," Jo answered relieved the wound was just a scratch. "I think her jacket protected her for the most part."

Ellen looked Micah over herself, checking everywhere from her neck down to her legs. "I think you're right. I don't see anywhere else, except for one on her cheek." She looked up at Jo, "What about you? Did the werewolf get you?"

Jo shook her head, "That's the thing. It only went after Micah. It left me alone."

She stared at her daughter, confused. "The werewolf only attacked Micah?"

"Yeah, that's what gave me a chance to grab the gun out of the car and shoot it."

Ellen turned back to Micah and wiped away at the fresh blood that was still leaking out of the wound. When that blood was gone, she dried it and opened the first-aid kit to take out a roll of gauze, stretching it out before wrapping it around Micah's waist, making sure it was tight but not too tight. "Come to think of it, I haven't caught wind of any werewolf sightings in the area," she realized, wrapping the gauze.

Jo was holding Micah's head to her now. "Do you think it was after Micah, Mom?" she asked her mother. "I mean, Cas said that burn mark attracted demons."

"I don't know, baby," Ellen shrugged. "The whole thing is strange, even for us. Maybe you should call Dean and let him know about this while I finish bandaging her up."

She nodded and looked down at her adopted daughter. "Micah, sweetheart, I need to call Daddy about you getting hurt. But Nana's gonna stay with you."

Micah looked up at her adopted mother. "No, don't go, Mommy," she whimpered.

"I will be right over there," Jo pointed to the other side of the room. "I won't be far, I promise." She kissed the top of Micah's head before walking away. It pained Jo to leave her side when her little girl was in distress.

Ellen sat down on one of the stools and finished wrapping Micah's waist, tearing the roll off, "It's all right, sweetheart. Nana's here. Mommy just went to call Daddy, she'll be back." She reached over to drop the leftover gauze inside the kit and grabbed the roll of medical tape next while holding her other hand on the end of the gauze to hold it in place on Micah's torso. Peeling off the end of the medical tape, Ellen taped the gauze down to secure it, making sure it was tight as well but not too tight as she continued to comfort her adopted granddaughter.

When she was done bandaging the scratch, Ellen focused on the one on Micah's cheek before she lifted Micah from the bar and set her on her lap. Micah tensed up but allowed the woman to hold her as Ellen rubbed circles on her back. Micah tried looking back to see where Jo was, spotting her across the room on the phone.

Jo had called Dean's cell phone. Dean had picked up on the third ring. "Hey, sweetheart. Everything all right?" he asked. Jo sniffed in, making Dean worry, "Jo, what's wrong?"

"Dean, Micah was attacked again," she told him, tears rolling down both sides of her face.

Dean looked up from the floor of Samuel's office, his eyes widened. "What? How?" he asked, worry increasing by now. "How did a demon get her?"

She hesitated. "It wasn't a demon, this time."

"Then what was it?"

"A werewolf. It ambushed us in the parking lot of the Roadhouse and went after her. Micah's all right, just scratched up. My mom is bandaging her up, right now," Jo explained. She wiped away a tear from her eye. "Dean, I was so scared. I barely managed to get the gun out on time."

"Okay, calm down, Jo. I'm coming home, right now. I'll be there as soon as I can. In fact, take her to Bobby's so she'll be extra safe until I get there," he told her. Dean couldn't understand any more than Ellen and Jo could why a werewolf had attacked Micah after it's been demons this whole time. He knew he shouldn't have left them alone.

Jo agreed before they hung up.


	16. Chapter 16

Answered Prayers

Chapter 16

Dean had gotten back on the road as soon as possible, driving as fast as he could. He couldn't believe he let this happen after promising his little girl he would always protect her. Why did he have to leave her unprotected like that? Why did he leave? Sure Jo was a great hunter herself but he was the man of the household, he was the leader. Dean had two girls to look after and he just willingly left them alone. He never should have done that. He never should have left. They were his responsibility now. Sam was no longer his top priority anymore. He had his own family to think about and protect. Sam was booted from top spot to third and Dean had to remember that.

No one had said a word since they left Samuel's place. Dean's eyes stayed on the road ahead, determined to get home as soon as possible. Finally, after a few hundred miles, Sam broke the silence.

"Dean."

Dean responded with a serious, "What?"

"This may not be the best time to say anything but I've been thinking about it since that night and I think maybe I should tell you," he told his older brother, staring down at the dash.

"Tell me what?" He never took his eyes off the road.

Sam couldn't look at his brother, not even when he tried. "That night when Micah disappeared…" he began.

"What about it?"

Sam's eyes were looking everywhere but his brother. "I was awake that night when I heard a noise downstairs."

Dean's eyes slowly moved towards him as Sam continued.

"I grabbed my gun, thinking it was a burglar or something and started down the stairs. I saw Micah setting the milk crate in front of the door and unlocked it."

Dean's emotions were already at record height, thinking about his little girl hurt. Sam's confession did not help them any. "Why didn't you stop her, or woke me up?" he asked of Sam.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. I just stood there and watched. I don't why I did it. I just did. I'm sorry, Dean."

"So you lied to me when I told you Micah was missing?"

He looked away, staring out his window.

Dean was hurt to hear his brother had lied to him about his own adopted kid. "Sam, I was worried as hell about her. I ran out of the house in my pajamas. I drove all the way back to Colorado."

Sam looked back. "It worked out, didn't it?" he shrugged. "You got to talk to Micah's aunt about adopting her."

Dean looked between his brother and the road, frustrated at this point. "That's not the point, Sam. You lied to me. You knew Micah had left the house and you didn't tell me. Micah had caught the flu that night. What if it was something worse like pneumonia? What if she was molested or raped, Sam?"

"You live in a suburban community, Dean," Sam rolled his eyes.

"So? A homeless bum I ran into at the park confessed he had approached her, Sam. No telling what he would have done if she hadn't ran away from him." Dean sighed and looked away, shaking his head. "I don't believe this, Sam. And you don't want your soul back?"

"Cas said it was dangerous," Sam reminded him.

Dean turned back to his brother, "Since when do we listen to something like that? Huh?" He looked away again but looked back to say one last thing, "Soulless or not, Sam. If something had happened to Micah…"

"But it didn't, Dean."

"No, but if something had…"

No one said anything for the rest of the trip. Dean pulled into the salvage yard Monday afternoon and quickly jumped out, hurrying inside. He opened the door and hurriedly looked around the house, checking Bobby's study first.

Micah was sitting on the floor playing with some old toys that had belonged to Sam when he was a kid when she looked up at the heavy footsteps in the front hallway. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, excitedly and got to her feet. Micah dashed over to her adopted father. Dean kneeled down to her level and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace as Micah squeezed his neck.

"I missed you, Daddy," she told him, softly. "A monster got me. You say you protect me, Daddy."

"I know, sweetheart. I am so sorry I left you alone," he told her, holding his hand on the back of her head, holding it to him. "I'm so sorry, Mic. I really am. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Dean pushed Micah back to give her an once-over. "Are you okay? Where did it hurt you?"

Micah pointed at the bandage on her cheek and lifted up her red cartoon dinosaur T-shirt to show him the bandage on her torso, "It got me here and on my tummy, Daddy."

Dean carefully peeled away the bandage on her cheek and examined it. "Come here, Mic." He stood up and led her over to the kitchen where he threw the soaked bandage away and wet a dish rag from the kitchen sink before kneeling back down to Micah's level. Holding her jaw in his left hand, Dean turned it to the side to wipe away the dried-up blood.

"Ow, Daddy, you doing it too hard," she protested as he scrubbed it off.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm trying to get the blood off," Dean told her as he continued wiping off the blood.

Sam walked in the kitchen with Jo. "How is she?" he asked.

Dean barely glanced up at his brother. "She seems fine," he said. Dean examined where he had been wiping. "It doesn't look too bad. It'll heal without a scar." He looked up at Jo, his voice softening, "How did the one on her stomach look?"

"Her insides weren't hanging out, so that's a good thing," Jo told him. "They were about the same as that one on her cheek. Like I said, I got the gun out in time before it could do any real damage."

Dean looked at the scratches once more. "It's bleeding again. Where's Bobby?"

"Present," Bobby walked into the kitchen at that point.

"Can I get a first-aid kit, Bobby?" Dean asked the old man.

"Sure can." He left the kitchen again and returned with the first-aid kit, passing it to Dean who had lifted Micah up onto the counter, holding the towel on her cheek.

Dean thanked him and opened it up. He looked around the kit until he found another large bandage and tore it open. Wiping off more of the blood again, Dean placed the clean bandage over the scratches, smoothing it out. "There, all better," he smiled at Micah.

Micah looked up at him. "Kiss it, Daddy, wike Mommy kiss it when I got shots," she told him.

Dean stared back at his adopted daughter before looking around at everyone else who was waiting to see big, tough, macho Dean Winchester kiss a boo-boo. It was for his little girl though and her puppy-dog eyes were reeling his heart in, melting it as she continued to stare at him. So Dean leaned over and kissed over the bandage on her cheek. "There, did that help?" he smiled at her.

Micah nodded, "Tank you, Daddy. Is that what I say?"

Dean snickered to himself. "That's it, Mic. You're welcome, sweetheart." He turned to throw the trash away when he saw Sam, Bobby, Jo, and now Ellen standing there smiling at him. "Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," he told them. "It's my kid, come on. If you can't degrade yourself for them then who can you?"

The group just awed.

"Okay, okay. Show's over." Dean walked over to the trashcan to throw the trash away. Jo tried to lift Micah down but she wanted her adopted father to do it, wanting him to hold her. He walked back over to lift her onto his right side and carried her into Bobby's study.

"There's some good news about all this," Bobby said as the rest of the group followed.

"Great, I could go for some good news right about now," Dean said.

"I figured out what that burn in her ear could be."

Dean looked over at the man, elated. "Okay, what could it be?"

"Well, from what I read and put together, Micah might only be half human," he explained.

"Half human?"

"What's the other half?" Ellen shrugged.

Bobby looked over at her, "Elf."

The group stared at the old man like he was nuts.

Dean was the first to speak. "Elf?" he questioned in disbelief. "Like _Peter Pan _elf or dude who wants to be a dentist elf?"

He nodded. Bobby was standing on the other side of his desk, leaning on his hands. "I checked out a couple books from the library. Elves are the weakest of the supernatural and the gentlest. Other supernatural creatures prey on elves which is why they are reaching extinction," he explained, turning the book around he had open in front of him.

Jo walked over to see for herself. "But what does that have to do with Micah's burn?" she asked, looking up from the picture of an elf she was staring at from the book.

"When a half-elf is born, a mark is placed inside the ear canal so they can be found if needed. Full elves can locate each other by the magic they use but half-elves don't have enough magic to be able to be located."

Dean was trying to wrap his mind around the whole elf thing. "Okay, I saw both of her parents. Neither one of them looked elfish," he said.

"Only one of them were probably Micah's real parent while her elf half is somewhere out there, waiting for her to come of age," Bobby told him.

"Come of age for what?" Sam asked, standing across from Dean with his arms folded.

"After an elf mates with a chosen human and marks the child when he or she is born, it leaves until the child's seventeenth birthday when an elf is supposed to reach adulthood and takes them in to teach them of who they are. Half-elves don't have the full magic ability but they are born with extraordinary skills that start when the child is four."

Dean and Jo exchanged looks between them, remembering the Legos and train tracks. "That explains it," Dean said.

Ellen asked, "Explains what?"

"Micah built a whole town out of Legos and toy train tracks the other day. It was almost perfect," he told her.

Sam looked over at his brother, impressed. "Better than the one I built when I was twelve?" he asked.

"Oh yeah."

"So those demons and that werewolf weren't after Micah for a specific reason, it was just cause of what she is that attracted them to her?" Ellen tried to make sense of it all.

"Exactly," said Bobby.

"And with Micah's real parents, it would make more sense why they didn't know because one of them was probably drunk as skunks or high," Dean shrugged. "Which also means Micah's gonna need extra protection. She can't be out of anyone's sights."

"But what about when she starts school?" Ellen asked. "She can't always be under our protection. And Jo was with her when that werewolf attacked her, Dean."

Dean looked at Micah who was still in his arms with her head on his shoulder, with her hand in between. Jo could see how nerve-wracking this was making him and turned back to look at Bobby.

"Is there anyway Micah could be protected or hidden from other supernatural things?" she asked him.

Bobby looked up from the book, still leaning on his hands. "In order for Micah to be hidden from anything, that burn of hers would have to be removed and Cas was right. Her elf half was the one who placed it in her ear so they're the only one who can remove it."

"Is there any way to find out who her elf parent is?" Dean asked, anxiously. He had to find a way to remove that burn or the poor guy would never be able to sleep again.

Bobby flipped through the pages, scanning them. After a short moment, he stopped on another page. "It says the parent checks in on the child every two to three years but it's not that easy to catch an elf regardless. They're human-like so elves blend in well," he read.

Sam shrugged, "I would think the pointed ears would be a dead giveaway."

"Elves keep them hidden," Bobby added. "Usually by a hat or scarf, or something like that."

"So is Micah gonna have pointed ears?" Jo asked, curious.

"Not like a full elf's. They'll have points but they'll be more human than elf. You can even see it now." Bobby nodded over at Micah.

Everyone turned to look at the little girl.

Dean reached for her left ear, holding it in his hand feeling the top with his thumb. "Yeah, he's right. Micah's ears have a point to them. They're actually more like mine though."

Jo moved over to see for herself. "So what should we do about this? Wait until the day comes when her real parent comes to check on her or what?" she asked.

"What I don't get is why anyone would choose folks like Micah's parents and let her be raised in abuse?" Dean brought up next, annoyed.

Sam shrugged, "They probably didn't know. Their race is near extinction. Elves probably don't run background checks on a person."

"Micah had only been living with them for the past year and if elves check on the kid every two to three years, they probably think she's still living with her grandmother," Jo guessed.

Bobby agreed, "That'll be my guess too."

Micah looked up at her father. "Daddy," she said softly, interrupting the adults.

Dean looked at her, "Hm?" he responded.

"I hungry."

"You're hungry, huh," Dean grinned at her. "You know what, so am I. I feel up to some pizza, how about you?"

"I wove pissa," she answered.

"Pizza, it is then." Dean took out his phone and dialed the local pizza place they normally ordered from, walking into the kitchen. He ordered a couple large pizzas, one supreme and one pepperoni. Once the pizza was ordered, Dean headed upstairs to a spare bedroom and sat down on the bed, positioning Micah on his lap. "I know you probably heard us talking down there about you. Did you understand everything or is all that confusing for you?"

Micah snuggled on his chest and just shrugged.

Dean smiled at his little girl. "Well, no matter what you are, Mic, I will still always love you. Nothing will ever change that. Human, elf, or whatever you are, you are my little girl and always will be."

Micah lifted her head, lazily pushing herself up against his chest while sitting on his stomach. "What is a elf?" she asked.

"It's like a person but they can use magic. Do you know what magic is?"

"Wike when you pull a wabbit out of a hat?"

Dean laughed at that, "That would be the fake magic stuff that's not real. Elf magic is different than that though I'm not really sure what that is. I will read about elves and let ya know when I do."

Micah nodded at her adopted father. "Daddy, how wong is the pissa going to get here? I starving," she said, repeating what she had heard Dean say a few times.

Dean definitely couldn't hold in his laughter there, laughing until tears came out. He leaned forward and kissed Micah on the right cheek, opposite from the one with the bandage. "Oh, I love you so much, Mic."

Micah leaned on her adopted father's torso, "I wove you more, Daddy."

"No, I love you more," he teased her.

"Nah uh," she shook her head, "I wove you more."

"No way, I love you way more."

"I wove you more ten Kai-Lan," she argued, playfully.

"I love you more than pie," he argued in return.

"I wove you more ten candy."

"I love you more than…." Dean thought about something he liked.

"Do you wove me more ten Mommy?" Micah asked.

Dean shook his head, "I love both you and your mom the same. I don't love either of you more or less than the other. Okay?"

She nodded. "Daddy?"

"Hm?" he replied with a crooked smile.

"Can you do what you did before?"

"What did I do before?" Dean asked.

"When you lift me up and make noises on my tummy," she explained.

Dean smiled, "Sure, kiddo." He sat back up and Micah turned around on his stomach to face sideways before Dean lifted her up into his arms after lifting part of her shirt up. Holding her up with his knees, Dean blew on her stomach, making her giggle at first that changed into a laugh as he continued. They laughed and had fun until the pizza arrived.


	17. Chapter 17

Answered Prayers

Chapter 17

Over the next couple of days, Micah did not want to leave Dean's side and Dean didn't want Micah out of his sight. Dean and Jo returned to their house when Micah was awake from her nap. Tuesday, Dean returned to work since he had already told his boss he would but brought Micah along too since Jo was working that day as well.

While standing on a milk crate, Micah learned all about under a hood, helping her adopted father fix cars the whole day that she was able to do, with Dean holding her hand in his, helping her.

"See, you did it," Dean praised as he helped her tighten something that was loose, with a wrench.

Micah smiled up at him. "I did it," she repeated, happily.

"Good job, kiddo." He kissed her right cheek.

When the car was all fixed, Micah followed her adopted father into the waiting room to hand the driver of the car they were working on, his keys. She hid behind his leg as Dean explained to the driver what was wrong with his car and that it was all taken care.

For lunch, Dean ordered two sub sandwiches when the lunch trunk came by, along with a bag of chips, and a large forty-four ounce drink for the both of them to share. They ate in the break room. Micah sat on her legs, eating her chips first until Dean took them away.

"Come on, kiddo, eat your sandwich too," he told her, holding his sandwich in his left hand so he could pull the chip bag to the other side of the table.

Micah reached over to lift the large drink in both hands, bringing it down to take a swig of it before placing it back on the table. She picked up one of the sandwich halves and took a bite.

"You like fixing cars, Mic?" Dean asked, between bites.

She nodded. "It fun."

Dean laughed at that, "It's fun, huh?"

"Yeah. Are we fixing more, Daddy?"

"After lunch, we are. Finish eating, okay," he nodded at her food.

Micah took a bite of her sandwich, setting it back down as she chewed.

After lunch, Dean and Micah returned to work, clocking out around two-thirty. Once they had their jackets on, they headed outside to where Dean had parked the Impala and slid inside. Micah climbed in on his side, crawling over to her side of the front seat as Dean slid in.

He handed her their drink they were still drinking, "Here," he told her. "Hold this for me, would ya, Mic?"

She took the drink in both hands and held it between her legs, taking a drink.

"Try not to spill it," Dean said as he placed the key in the ignition and started the car.

"Do your car need to be fixed, Daddy?" she asked, her mind still set in fix mode.

Dean checked his side and rearview mirror before backing out. "I don't think so but as soon as it does, I will let you know." He smiled over at his adopted daughter. Dean pulled from the garage parking lot, turning onto to the main street before taking out his cell phone to check it, while watching the road.

"Daddy, I wike your work better ten Mommy work. Is that okay?"

"You don't like working at the Roadhouse?" he grinned over at the little girl.

"I don't do work tere, Mommy give me tings to cowor and I have to sit and sit and sit all day wong," Micah explained. "And Mommy just give food to people. That bowing."

"So my job's more exciting for ya, huh?" Dean laughed, looking between the road, his phone, and Micah.

She nodded at him. "Will Mommy be mad?"

"Micah, remember what I said?" Dean reminded her. "Your mom and I will never be mad at you. We all have things we like or don't like. If you like my job better than your mom's, your mom won't be mad, I promise you that. Okay?"

Micah nodded again and took another swig of the drink.

"Speaking of your mom," Dean said when he noticed Jo had called him. He speed-dialed her number and put the phone to his right ear, looking forward at the road. It rang several times before Jo's voicemail came on and Dean had to leave a message before closing it. "Your mom must be still working." He put it away in his pocket and asked for the soda, holding his right hand out.

Micah held the soda out towards her adopted father in two hands. Dean took it to take a long drink before passing it back. It was a twenty minute drive home, pulling into the driveway around three o'clock.

"Hey, Mic," Dean said as they walked up to the front door.

Micah looked up at her adopted father, "Yes, Daddy?" she answered.

"I have an idea. How about we surprise your mom with dinner tonight? You and I make dinner together, how does that sound?"

"But I don't know how to cook," Micah admitted, sadly.

Dean just smiled at her, warmly, "That's okay. I'll show ya."

"Okay," she agreed.

Dean unlocked the front door, letting Micah in first. He closed the door behind him as Micah handed him the drink, "Here, Daddy." Dean took the drink so she could take her jacket off and told her to take it upstairs to her bedroom before walking into the living room.

Sam was sitting on the couch, hunched over his laptop while the TV was playing _Man vs. Wild_. He glanced up when his brother walked in the room and asked, "Hey. How was work?"

Dean walked past, through part of the living room, over to grab a beer from the fridge, "Fine. How was your day?"

"Well, I've researched more on this elf thing, seeing if there was a way to track down Papa or Mama Elf," Sam explained.

Dean twisted the cap off his beer, tossing it in the sink as he walked back to the living room. "Find anything?"

"Because elves are the weakest, they tend to stay in hiding as much as possible. If they do have to go out, they wear disguises to hide among humans like Bobby was saying."

"So, what, you can't just leave out a broken toy for them to fix while you sleep?" Dean shrugged, standing beside the coffee table.

Sam let out a breath of air, "Uh, no. The whole elf-making-toys tale is fictional. They don't make or fix toys."

"What about cookies?"

He looked at his older brother, "No, Dean, they don't make cookies either. But they like to eat them." Sam shrugged, "and brownies, cake, candy. Pretty much anything sweet. Elves have a real sweet tooth and cannot resist when they come into contact with sweets."

"So are you saying we have to leave out a bunch of sweets to lure it to us?"

Sam shrugged, "That's what the lure says."

Dean stared up towards the ceiling, one hand hanging out of his pocket, the other holding his beer. "But how do we get the elf we want?" he finally asked.

"That's the thing, it's pure random. You have to keep doing it until you catch the one you want. The odds of the elf you're looking for that will be in the same town as you, are next to zero."

Micah wandered into the living room, going straight to Dean's legs to hide from Sam. Her shoes were off now so all she had on her feet were a pair of white socks and clutching her zebra to her.

Dean looked behind him. "Get everything put away?" he asked her.

She nodded up at him.

The doorbell rang.

Dean looked from the door, over to his brother. "You expecting someone?"

Sam shrugged, "No."

Dean set his beer down and walked over to the upper cupboard where he kept his pistol when he was home and turned to Micah. "Stay in here, Mic," he told her, placing the gun behind him and pulled his over shirt over it.

Micah started tearing up and shook her head, gripping her adopted father's jeans.

"Yes, Micah. It'll be safer for you in here, I don't know who's at the door and we have to be prepared if it's someone bad. Ask Sam to put cartoons on for you, maybe Kai-Lan is on."

Micah nodded, her upper lip quivering and watched him walk over to the front door. Sam was already scrolling through the guide, looking for cartoons.

"You like Spongebob?" he asked the little girl.

She looked over at Sam, clutching her zebra even tighter now. So Sam pressed enter on the remote and the channel changed to _Spongebob Squarepants_. When Spongebob appeared on the screen, Micah watched it from the spot she was standing without moving. Sam set the remote down on the coffee table and returned to his laptop. Slowly, but surely she made her way over to sit on the floor right in front of the TV.

Dean cautiously walked over to the front door. The doorbell rang again. He peeked through the window on his right side of the door to see it was a man standing there. It was the same man from the street corner and the Roadhouse. Dean carefully opened the door, holding his right hand behind his back, gripping the handle of his gun.

He asked, "Can I help you?"

"Good afternoon, good sir," the man smiled. "We're conducting a survey of the children of the neighborhood. Can I get a few minutes of your time? I promise it won't cost you a dime and I won't take any names."

Dean looked the man up and down, strangely. He was still wearing the trench coat and fedora. "Okay," Dean agreed with his guard still up.

"First off, do you have any children living in your home?" he asked Dean.

"Yes, one," Dean replied.

"Excellent, what is the age group?"

"She's five," he told him.

"Five, that's a good age," the man nodded, smiling. The smile was what was creeping Dean out the most. "Is she yours, foster, adopted, niece, grandchild?"

Dean stared at the man, "Grand child? How old do you think I am?"

"Uh, I didn't mean anything by it. You see, we have a script we have to follow and I have to mention all examples," he explained.

"Our daughter's adopted," Dean finally told him. Part of the man's ears caught Dean's eye and stared carefully at them as the man continued his survey. If Dean didn't know better he swore the man's ears were going inside his hat.

"May I ask when she was adopted?" the man asked.

Dean didn't respond at first, making the man repeat himself. "Oh, uh, last week," he replied, snapping out of his thoughts, and nodded over behind the man, "Hey, isn't that Jennifer Aniston?"

The man turned to look behind him, "Really? Where?"

It gave Dean a chance to reach up and knock his hat off, revealing two elf-like, pointed ears. The moment Dean saw them he immediately pinned the man to the wall of the garage, on his left side of the door.

"Oh gosh," the man was freaking out now, his eyes shut, tight. "Don't hurt me, I bruise easily."

Dean stared the man down, inches from his face as he held onto the front of his trench coat. "You're Micah's elf parent, ain't ya?" he demanded of him

"Yes, yes. Please don't hurt me. I promise I'm not taking her away. I just need to check on her. Honest," the man answered.

Dean watched the man who looked like he was about to piss on himself any minute. Bobby wasn't kidding when he said elves were the weakest of the supernatural creatures.

Sam had come running when he heard the commotion and saw his brother holding the elf down. Neither one of them thought it would be that easy to find the elf parent when their luck wasn't that great in the past. "That's the kid's real father?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, yes, please just let me go. I promise I won't do…" The man stopped. He opened his eyes to stare over at Sam, it finally dawning on him. "How do you both know I'm Micah's real father?"

"Look, pal," Dean threatened. "Never mind how we know. Now that we have found you, you're gonna remove that burn you put in her ear so demons and werewolves can stop coming after her."

The man looked between the brothers, swallowing. "Are you both h-hunters?" he asked them.

"Yes, and weak or not I will kill you if you refuse."

"No, please, don't," he shook his head. "I hate hunters. A hunter killed my brother once even though we told him we weren't killing like those vampires he hunted were."

Dean looked over at Sam, sharing a confused look with him before turning back to the man.

"Are you talking about Gordon Walker?" Sam asked.

"Oh gosh. You're friends of his," the man trembled, his legs now shaking underneath him. "Please don't tell him where I am. He didn't know I was watching when he killed my brother and got away. For Pete's sake, I have a child."

Dean raised his eyebrows at the man, "Correction, you _had _a child. I'm Micah's father now. What kind of father lets a child live through the hell she had gone through?"

"I swear I didn't know of the abuse. Elves just choose a mate who is able to conceive, that's the only requirement. If I knew, I would have found someone else. Besides, whether she's adopted or stays with her biological mother, I will always be her father, no matter what. I have to check in every few years and when Micah comes of age, I have to take her. I'm sorry, sir. Can you please let me go? I think you are bruising my chest."

Instead of letting the man go, Dean just tightened his grip. "You're not taking her anywhere, at any age and you are gonna remove that burn, you understand me?"

"I can't, that burn is the only way I can find her," the man said. "Every half elf must have the mark."

"You do realize two demons and a werewolf have already attacked her, right?"

The man was looking back at Dean, "Yes, that is unfortunate. Not many half elves make it to adulthood." He shrugged, "Not many reach the age Micah is now."

Sam asked, "Ever hear of cellphones?"

He shook his head, "We don't use your technology. We stick to our traditional ways of using magic."

"Yeah, well, your traditional ways are crap and if you want to live I suggest you remove that burn," Dean continued to threaten, coldly.

"But then she has to have that burn," he pointed out. The man gave a yelp when Dean yanked out his gun from behind him.

Dean twitched his head back, staring at the man. "Did you seriously just scream like a girl?" he asked, holding the gun to the side of the man's head.

"I don't like weapons. They scare me and I think I may have just urinated on myself."

Dean looked down at their feet, grossed then back up at the man, finally letting go and backed up a little. He did not lower his gun though. "I really hate to but either remove it, or…" he cocked the gun. "…or I will shoot."

The man held up his hands, still pleading with him. "Please, sir, just listen to me. I can't remove it."

"Yes you can. The lore says it can only be removed by the elf parent who put it there in the first place. That's you, isn't it?" Dean saw his eyes wander to look over at the door but thought he was looking at Sam until the man spoke.

"You would shoot someone in front of a young child?"

Dean quickly looked over to see Micah peeking around the door. He didn't mean to yell at her, but seeing his little girl there, watching, especially when he was holding someone at gunpoint after he had told Micah to stay inside, frustrated him, "Micah Isaiah, I told you to stay in the living room. Get back in there and stay there, now!"

Frightened by her adopted father's outburst, Micah dashed up the stairs and hid inside her closet, closing the door behind her. When she was out of earshot and sight, Dean turned back to her elf parent.

"Look, Papa Elf…" he told him, sarcastically but stopped in mid-sentence to see the man gone. Both he and Sam quickly looked around.

"Where did he go?" Sam asked, scanning their street.

"I don't know," Dean replied and lowered his gun. "Damn it." He rubbed his eyes with his left hand.

Sam looked back at his brother, "Well, at least we know who it is. Did you get a name?"

"No, I didn't." Dean returned his gun behind him, pulling his over shirt out over it.

"Now what?" he shrugged.

"I'm gonna go check on Micah. I think I scared her out of her skin."

Sam nodded before his brother headed passed him to head inside and up the stairs.


	18. Chapter 18

Answered Prayers

Chapter 18

Dean looked inside his adopted daughter's bedroom, looking for her before he stepped inside. Knowing where Micah was hiding, he walked over to the closet and opened the door, kneeling to her level. She was curled up in the corner, crying into her folded arms.

"Hey, kiddo, I didn't mean to raise my voice like that," he told her, softly and held out his arms. "Come here."

Micah swallowed a lump in her throat as she sniffed back some tears. "I getting a spanking?" she asked, pitifully.

"In a minute, yes you are, for not listening to me. I want to make sure you're all right first," he said in a serious but gentle tone. Dean was still holding his arms out to her.

"I don't want a spanking, Daddy. I sorry. I be good girl," she tried to plead with her adopted father.

Dean lowered his arms down. "I know you are, Mic. It's only a small one, this time. It'll only hurt for a few seconds, I promise but I told you when your mom or I tell you to do something, you do it. Remember? If I tell you to stay put somewhere it's for your own good to keep you safe, do you understand?"

Micah nodded, clutching her zebra to her in a hug.

"I don't want to have to spank you, Mic," he shook his head. "It hurts me as much as it hurts you. As your dad I have to teach you. It won't be like you're used to, I promise though. Okay?"

Again, she nodded.

"But first, can I have a hug so I can tell you I'm sorry for scaring you?"

Micah slowly stood up onto her hands and knees and crawled over to her adopted father, cautiously. His heart broke at how terrified she was and wished having to punish her hadn't of came so soon. Dean lifted Micah up to hold her on his left shoulder.

"I'm sorry about scaring ya, Mic. I didn't mean to yell. I was doing grown-up stuff that I never want you to see. That's why I wanted you to stay in the living room. Didn't Sam turn on cartoons for you?"

Micah held her head on his shoulder, holding onto his shirt sleeves. She nodded against him.

"Why didn't you stay there?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I need an answer, Micah," Dean told his adopted daughter, sternly. "Why didn't you stay in the living room like I told you to?"

Micah rubbed her right eye, repeatedly.

Dean nudged her off his shoulder to look at her. "Tell me why, Micah Isaiah."

She continued rubbing at her eye, not saying a word.

"You can stay in your room until you're ready to talk or you can tell me now. Which will it be?" he asked of her.

"Stay in my woom," she replied, softly.

Dean motioned towards her bed with his head, "Go sit on your bed then and think up an answer for me." Micah slowly made her way over to her bed and climbed up to sit on the edge. "I will be up here again in fifteen minutes to see if you're ready. Don't move from your bed and there's no playing. You can hold Max though."

Micah nodded up at him. She watched him stand up and head towards the door.

Looking back, he added, "This is a time-out to think about what you're gonna say to me, okay? I'll be back." With that, Dean left the room, heading for the stairs.

Micah sat there, holding her zebra on her lap. To a five-year-old, fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity. All she could think about was the spanking Dean was going to give her, thinking about when her other father would give her one with his belt or whatever he could grab. The man never used just his hand and Micah wondered what her adopted father would use. Time moved slow as she sat there with tears running down her face.

Her other father used to make her take time-outs in a closet with the door locked. Micah was surprised Dean had let her sit on her bed. It was the time-outs in the closet that made her used to hiding in one when she was scared. Micah was used to dark places and had grown accustomed to the dark, especially when she was scared. Being out in the open, in the light like that made her feel uneasy as she continued to sit there, sucking on her lip.

Dean returned after fifteen minutes, walking inside and kneeled down in front of her. "Ready to tell me why you didn't stay in the living room like I asked or do you need another fifteen minutes in here?"

Micah wanted to cry again. The dreaded spanking occupied her mind the whole fifteen minutes and she tightened her grip on her zebra.

Dean lifted his left hand up to push some hair behind her ear, gently. "Do you want help thinking, Mic? You can ask me for help if you want," he assured her.

She nodded, slowly.

He pulled his arm away. "Did you hear us talking and wanted to see what was going on?"

Micah shook her head. Finally, she remembered why she had walked over to the front door. "I…" she tried to tell her adopted father. "I…" Tears filled her eyes again.

Dean reached up and gently touched both of her arms, rubbing them up and down. "It's okay, Mic, take your time. Did you see you were alone and got scared, and went looking for me?"

Again, Micah shook her head. "I s-saw S-Sam weave…and I fol-woed him." She bit down on her lower lip.

"Why?" he asked of her.

Micah shrugged.

He shook his head, this time, "That's not an answer. Why did you follow Sam?" Dean was still rubbing her arms, assuringly.

Micah's chest was moving, rapidly. "I scared. I hear noise and tought you were hurt."

"You were worried about me?" he asked.

She nodded.

Dean slowly stood up and sat down on the bed beside her, lifting Micah onto his right leg. "It's okay, Mic. I'm okay, I promise. I'm tough. It takes a lot to bring me down so you have nothing to be scared of. I want to make sure you're safe though," he explained to her. "I know you've already seen enough but I don't want you to see more that a kid shouldn't see. You understand? That's why it's so important you listen when I tell you to stay put or to go to your room."

Micah nodded, snuggling against his chest. She felt her adopted father kiss the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her before he asked her to stand up. Micah shook her head, not lifting it from his chest, having a feeling she knew what was coming next.

Dean closed his eyes, feeling a tear escape his eye and hugged her once more before gently nudging Micah off his leg and onto her feet. "This is just to remind you for next time to listen to me when me or your mom tell you do something."

Micah looked up at her adopted father with pleading eyes, "No, Daddy. I be good girl. Please, don't."

"Yes, Micah, you are a good girl. It's just a reminder, okay. After this one, tiny swat, you won't be in trouble anymore." Dean made to turn Micah halfway around so he could administer the swat. Micah tried to fight back, pleading with him some more. It broke his heart, not wanting to do this but Dean had already told Micah before what would happen if she did not listen to him and he had to keep his word if he wanted to be a good father.

Dean held onto his adopted daughter's left, upper arm and quickly brought his other hand up, bringing it down on her small bottom. It wasn't hard, just enough to get his point across and Micah still cried out from it. Dean let go of her arm, letting Micah rub it for a moment before pulling her into his arms.

"Shh, it's okay, Mic. That's it, I promise. I am really sorry I had to do that. You are a good girl, Mic, you are a good girl." He rubbed his hand along her back, comfortingly and started humming one of his favorite songs to help calm her down. Micah's cries soon turned to quiet sniffles. "You're okay, Mic. Does it still hurt?" Dean hoped he hadn't hurt her too much than he had wanted to and took a peek inside the back of her jeans to make sure. Nothing was there, no bruise, handprint, welt, nothing. He kissed her head. "I'm sorry, Mic. You need to listen next time, all right? When I tell you to stay put or go to your room, you need to do it no matter what."

She nodded once more, sniffing in.

"I still love you. That's why I want to protect you and keep you safe," he said.

"Is ta spanking over?" Micah finally asked.

"Yes, the spanking's over. It was just the one, I promise."

Micah looked up at her adopted father in surprise, her eyes a light red from crying so much. "No belt?" she asked.

Dean shook his head, "I won't ever use a belt to spank you or anything else. Just my hand," he assured her.

"It only hurt for a wittle bit?"

He nodded, this time, pushing the front of her hair back. Dean sighed, knowing he had to ask, "Did you understand who that man was?"

Micah shook her head.

Dean closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before answering, "That was your real dad. Your other dad wasn't. He just thought he was. Your real father is an elf like we talked about at Uncle Bobby's house. We're trying to get that burn in your ear removed so those black-eyed monsters and other monsters won't find you anymore. He's the only one who can remove it. Understand?"

Micah nodded. "Are you still my daddy too?" she asked.

"Yes and your only dad. Just because he's your real father, doesn't mean you have to call him dad. He was never in your life. He didn't protect you like I'm doing now. Remember this, Mic. This is my first fatherly advice to you. Just because a person shares your blood, doesn't make them family. They gotta earn that."

"We fam-i-wee, Daddy?"

Dean smiled at his little girl. "You bet we are, kiddo," he told her and pulled her into another hug. "You, me, your mom, Uncle Bobby, Ellen, and Sam too."

"I don't wike Sam," she admitted.

Dean asked, curious, "Why not?"

"He's big and scarwee, and mean, just like my o-ter daddy was."

He kissed the top of Micah's head, "Don't worry, Mic. We're working on that." Dean held her for a moment before he said, "Now how about that dinner we were gonna make for your mom?"

Micah brightened at that, looking up at her adopted father again. "Yeah," she agreed.

"Let's go get started before your mom gets home then," he smiled and stood up to head downstairs, Micah right beside him.

Dean chased Micah down the stairs, like he was going to tickle her as she screamed out of excitement. Leaping from the bottom step, Micah dashed towards the kitchen. When she looked back over her shoulder to see how far back Dean was, Micah tripped over her legs and fell on the tiled floor. The tears immediately came as she started to cry.

Dean walked over and lifted Micah back onto her feet. "You're okay, Mic," he told her and looked her up and down for any blood. "You're not bleeding, you're fine." Dean pulled her into a quick hug, kissing the side of her head and wiped her eyes dry with his thumb. "Calm down, Mic, it was just a small fall."

Micah hugged his neck until he gently nudged her away. She lifted her left leg, trying to grab it and balance, "I-it…h-hurts," she hiccupped.

"Where, your knee?" he asked which Micah nodded. Dean pulled up her pants leg to examine her knee. There weren't any bruises or blood. "You're fine, Mic."

"I-it h-hurts," Micah repeated. "Kiss i-it…Daddy."

"It hurts, huh?" Dean grinned at the little girl. "Are you sure you're not lying just so I would give you a kiss?" He leaned towards her, "because I don't need a hurt knee to give me a reason to kiss you," and planted several kisses on her right cheek, wrapping his arms around her.

Micah couldn't help giggle as her adopted father kissed her cheek. Unknown to them, Sam was watching behind them, leaning in the doorway.

"How can you care so much about a kid who isn't even yours?" he asked of his brother. "Don't you think we have bigger problems to face than taking care of a half human half elf?"

Dean stopped and looked back at him. "She is mine, Sam," he said, standing up and shrugged. "I don't know what persuaded me to take Micah in but I don't regret it at all, and don't talk like that around her either." Dean led Micah passed his brother. Micah stayed close to him as possible as she eyed Sam's every move.

Sam watched his brother and the little girl as they headed into the kitchen.

Dean looked in the fridge where he had moved the meat from the freezer that morning. Once he spotted it, Dean took it out and set it on the counter. While the meat cooked on the stove, he grabbed several potatoes from the pantry and dropped them in the sink, rinsing the dirt off before showing Micah how to peel them.

"You want to remember to peel away from you," he was telling her as he showed how to peel the first one. Dean started it and let Micah try, supervising her. Micah started to as best as she could and Dean moved her fingers when he saw she was peeling too close. "See, just like that," he praised.

Micah smiled at the praise she received as she continued, standing on one of the kitchen chairs at the sink. Dean guided her to another side, telling her only to peel the dark green parts off. In between potatoes, Dean would move over to turn the meat over and seasoned them as they cooked. He didn't want to take a risk of looking away for a second and Micah cutting herself.

Once the potatoes were peeled, Dean grabbed the cutting board from behind the sink faucet and a knife from its holder where the knives were kept on the counter beside the stove, and chopped the potatoes into four pieces each.

"Can you grab me a big pot out of that cupboard, Mic?" he asked, gently kicking the cupboard on his right side.

"Yes, Daddy," she replied and climbed down from the chair. Micah moved to the other side of her adopted father and opened the cupboard he had kicked, looking around it. She spotted a large, black pot and grabbed it with two hands, taking the pot out to show Dean. "This one?"

Dean looked down at the pot in her hands. "Yup, can you set it up here for me?" he told her, nodding at the counter.

Micah held the pot level with her head and tried to set the pot down on the counter. She got it on the edge and pushed it as far as she could, standing up on her toes.

"Thanks, kiddo," Dean thanked her.

"Now what?" she asked, anxious for more stuff to do.

"Hold on," he said. "Let me finish cutting the potatoes." Micah had stayed standing at the counter where she had put the pot. "Can you stand over on your chair in case my arm slips, Mic? I don't want you near this knife I'm using."

Micah nodded and moved back to his other side to climb back onto the chair, and continued to watch him.

Once Dean was finished chopping up the potatoes, he had Micah toss them into the pot while he checked on the meat, removing the cooked ones to put in more.

"All done, Daddy," she said, looking over at Dean.

Dean was finishing seasoning the meat. He then went back over and set the pot in the sink to fill up with water before setting it on the stove, turning the front left burner on and covered it with the lid Dean found from the same cupboard.

Micah leaned against the edge of the sink, "Now what?"

"We have to wait until the water boils and the potatoes get soft," he explained, watching the meat.

"What do boy-ohs mean?"

"The water in there will get really hot and the water will have tons of bubbles."

Micah looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up at her adopted father, watching him for a minute. "Daddy," she said.

Dean flipped a piece of meat over and seasoned the other side, "Yeah, Mic?"

"Is my weal daddy going to take me away from you and Mommy?"

Dean looked over at the little girl, catching the worried look on her face as she stared up at him with sad eyes. He shook his head, looking down at the meat again, "We won't let that happen. This is your home now and no one's gonna tell you any different."

"What if he use magic to get me? You say he do magic, Daddy," she reminded him.

"I know, Mic. We're working on that."

Micah sat down on her bottom and slid off the chair to hug Dean's left leg to her. Dean rubbed her head, assuringly. Truth was he didn't know why he was so attached to the kid. Something just made him, want to protect her and be a father for Micah. A space in his heart that once felt empty was now occupied by her and Dean didn't have the heart to take her out. It was as if Micah was meant to be his and was so glad he had Jo to help raise her. He didn't realize it though, but deep down in his heart, he wanted a family like that. He wanted a wife and kids, and a house with a yard, hunting just always took top priority because that was all he knew. Having a daughter, even if she was adopted, was what was helping him want to quit.

The water in the pot eventually started boiling over, splashing down the sides. Dean reached over and turned off the burner. Grabbing two pot holders and telling Micah to move, he carried the pot over to the sink and poured the water out. The potatoes landed inside the strainer he had placed there. Grabbing a white, plastic mixing bowl from one of the upper cupboards he set it on the counter and dumped the potatoes inside. After the steam was gone, Micah stood on the chair again and helped mash the potatoes as Dean added the milk, garlic salt, and butter.

Micah pushed the metal masher into the potatoes with both hands. "You're pretty strong there, Mic," Dean grinned, playfully. "Let's see those muscles. Do this." He held his right arm up to make a muscle. Micah did the same. "Those are some good muscles," Dean nodded.

"I stwong wike you, Daddy?" she asked.

He grinned again, "Oh yeah, you're Superwoman."

The front door opened and a few seconds later, Jo walked into the living room and over to the kitchen. "Smells good in here," she said, walking up behind Dean and Micah.

"I help Daddy make dinner, Mommy," Micah told her adopted mother, happily.

Jo kissed Micah on the side of her forehead. "You did, huh? Looks good too," she smiled and turned towards Dean to give him a kiss. "How was work today?"

"Great, Mic's been helping me all day," he smiled at Micah. "You?"

"There were a lot of hunters today, usually we have that many on the weekends." Jo turned back to the little girl. She moved some hair from Micah's eyes, "Did you have fun today or did Daddy work you too hard?" Jo asked her, teasingly.

"A lot of fun," Micah replied.

"You think you'll be tired after dinner?"

Micah shook her head once, "No way."

Dean and Jo laughed.

"Well, I got you something today at the store," Jo said.

"For my party?" she asked.

"No, to help get you ready for school, next fall. Here, I'll show you." Jo held her hands out to her and lifted Micah down from the chair. Over on the table Jo had set down a plastic shopping bag. She reached inside and pulled out a thick workbook and three decks of flashcards as Micah climbed up onto another chair at the table. "We're gonna practice every night so we can to help you with your numbers and colors. Okay?"

Micah nodded at her.

"Have you started reading yet?" Jo asked.

"Granma read to me before bedtime," she explained.

"Your grandma didn't let you read?"

Micah shook her head.

Jo skimmed through the workbook, rechecking to make sure there were reading subjects inside as well. "This has reading in it so we'll work on reading too. That sound like a plan?" she told Micah.

Micah nodded this time. "Can I go help Daddy again now?"

"Everything's pretty much done, Mic," Dean called over to the little girl. "Thanks for helping, though."

When Micah did not respond, Jo reminded her, "What do you say when someone says thank you?" Micah thought about it but shrugged. "You say, you're welcome."

Micah looked back at Dean. "Your welcome."

Dean smiled over at her.

"Did you remember a vegetable, Dean?" Jo asked, placing everything back in the bag.

He pointed over to the bowl of mashed potatoes, "We made mashed potatoes."

Jo gave him a hard look. "Dean."

"Fine," Dean let out an annoyed breath before he gave in and walked over to the pantry. "Mic, come pick out a vegetable for dinner."

Micah slid off the chair and walked over to the pantry where her adopted father was scanning the selves. He lifted her up onto his right side and started listing out choices, turning the cans around so the pictures showed. After thinking it over, she chose corn. Dean set her down and grabbed a can of corn and warmed it up in the microwave when the last piece of meat was done cooking.

Dean called over to his brother who was watching the evening news, "Sam, you eating?"

Sam turned off the TV, tossing the remote onto the coffee table. "Yeah," he replied and stood up to walk over to the table. "Mind if I sit beside you, Micah?"

Micah was sitting in her usual spot next to Dean's. She stared up at him, terrified and shook her head. Sam took the seat next to her, thinking Micah didn't care even though she meant she didn't want him to sit there. Micah slid off the chair to dash around the table, then around the breakfast counter to hug Dean's leg as he was rinsing off the pan the meat was cooked in, for it to be washed later.

He looked down at her, "What's wrong, Mic?"

Micah looked up and pointed her finger over towards where Sam was sitting, serving himself some mashed potatoes.

Dean looked in the same direction then back at Micah. "Did Sam do something?" he asked.

Micah motioned for his ear so he squatted down to her level, drying his hands on a dish towel. "I don't want Sam sitting next to me," she whispered to him.

"Can you sit somewhere else at the table? You don't have to sit there, Mic. If you want to sit next to me, you can sit on the other side."

"But Mommy sit tere," she said.

"Your mom can sit in your seat tonight, how about that?"

She nodded and walked back around to the table, sitting across from her seat and watched Sam carefully.

Jo set her plate down in front of her. "Decided to change seats tonight?" she smiled.

Micah nodded again.

Jo walked behind Micah's chair, touching her right shoulder to pour Micah a glass of milk before she and Dean sat down to serve themselves.


	19. Chapter 19

Answered Prayers

Chapter 19

Saturday had finally arrived. Micah was the first one to wake up and rushed to Dean and Jo's bedroom to climb up onto the bed. The nightmares were starting to decrease from every night to every other night but were still there and still terrified the little girl, sometimes enough for her to wet her own bed and either Dean or Jo would get up to give Micah a quick shower and change her bedding. However, since Dean had reminded her Friday night about her party, Micah was too excited to sleep, much less have any nightmares.

Micah crawled across the bed and jumped on Dean first. "Wake up, Daddy," she told him, bouncing on him.

Dean moaned in his sleep. He barely opened his eyes to glance at the clock on his nightstand. "Go back to bed, Mic. It's only six-thirty. We still have time to sleep." He turned his head away from the clock and went back to sleep.

"But, Daddy," she protested, pitifully.

Dean rolled onto his right side, underneath her. "Come here, kiddo," he told her, holding his arms out. "You can lay with me until it's time to get up."

Micah sat there on his side, sad. She didn't want to lie down she wanted the day to begin so her party could start. But still terrified of disobeying her adopted father, she slid off and crawled over to lie beside him. Dean took her into his arms and laid his head back down on the pillow. They both ended up falling asleep, waking up to the alarm clock, blasting a classic rock song from the radio.

Dean rolled over onto his back and shut it off before he held his forehead as he stared up at the ceiling. It still felt weird to him, living the life he was living now. Hunting always found its way back into his dreams and he still got the urge to go out and shoot some evil sons of bitches.

A cute, smiling face appeared over him, blocking Dean's view of the ceiling, interrupting his thoughts. Micah had climbed up to sit on his torso. "Is it time for my party, Daddy?" she asked.

Dean couldn't help smile in return. "Not yet, Mic. We have to get ready and go to the place first." He sat up, making Micah slide down into his lap. "Come on, let's go get ya dressed."

Micah climbed down, setting her bare feet on the floor. Dean threw back the comforter and placed his own feet on the floor, rubbing the back of his neck. Eventually, he stood up, stretching his arms out and followed Micah to her bedroom to help get her dressed.

"What would you like to wear for your party, Mic?" he asked of her as he went through her dresser.

Micah went over and pulled out the bottom drawer to stand on it, looking into the drawer Dean had open. Spotting her _Ni Hao, Kai-Lan_ shirt, she grabbed it. "This one," she said, holding the shirt up.

Dean told Micah to move so he could close the drawer and grabbed a pair of jeans from the bottom drawer before closing that one. Micah removed her nightshirt and just dropped it on the floor as he kneeled to her level.

"Here, you're old enough to dress yourself, right?" he said, holding her jeans out to her.

Micah took her jeans and tried to balance as she slipped her right foot in first. Finally, she just decided to sit on the floor and put them on, standing up once she had both legs in and pulled them up. Micah struggled with the button but wouldn't let Dean help her when he offered. She wanted to do it herself. "I did it," Micah said, happily once she had them fastened.

Dean smiled. "Awesome, kiddo," he praised. He reached over to zip up her fly though,  
"Don't want to have this down."

"Oh yeah, I forget that," she said.

"Don't worry, I forget sometimes, too," he winked at her, trying to make Micah feel better. Dean picked up the shirt next from his left leg and handed it to her where he was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Micah took it and put it over her head, pulling it through before putting each arm through.

Dean stood up to grab a pair of socks out of Micah's top drawer and told Micah to sit on her bed. Walking over to where she had climbed up onto her bed and sat down, Dean unfolded the socks and handed one to Micah. "Can you put your socks on?" he asked.

Micah took the sock and lifted her right foot where it hung halfway off the bed to put it on. Once she had that one on, Dean handed her the other one and did the same thing while he prepared Micah's shoe.

"I want to do it," Micah told him, holding her hands out for her shoe.

"Okay, okay," he laughed, handing Micah her shoe, "I was just getting it ready for you." Dean prepared her other shoe. "Have your mom brush your hair for ya," Dean told her once she was all dressed and standing up again.

"How come you don't do it?" Micah asked, curious.

"Because that's Mom's job, not Dad's," he replied.

"Why?" she continued.

Dean picked up Micah's nightshirt from the floor, "Because guys don't brush their hair."

"Why?"

"Because we have short hair and short hair don't need to be brushed," he explained, tossing the shirt onto the foot of Micah's bed.

"But Sam have wong hair and he a guy," Micah pointed out.

"I know and it drives me crazy."

"Why?" she asked once more.

"Go find your mother," Dean told her with a smile so he could end the never-ending wave of whys from his adopted daughter, nudging her by her head. Micah hurried from the room and went in search of Jo. Dean headed back to his bedroom and jumped in the shower before getting dressed himself.

While Micah ate breakfast downstairs, Dean sat on his bed, wrapping the gifts he and Jo had bought for her. Sam was in there too, pacing around the room.

"How can you have a kid's birthday party at a time like this, Dean?" Sam was asking of his brother.

Dean didn't respond as he continued to wrap the gift he was on.

"We have a bigger picture here," he pointed out.

"Right, the camera, almost forgot. Thanks, Sammy," Dean looked up to snap his fingers at him, grinning.

Sam scoffed up at the ceiling, his hands on his sides. "You're unbelievable, Dean," he told him.

"If I had a nickel every time I heard that, I'd be…"

"A dead man missing his dick," Jo said as she walked into the room.

Dean shrugged, innocently, "What? We weren't talking about that, sweetheart. I meant…." He tried to come up with a lie of what he actually meant. "…I mean, how many times Sam and I were mistaken for a couple."

Jo nodded, "Uh huh, sure you were," she smiled. "How's the wrapping coming along?"

"Tell me again why you're letting me do this?" he asked, showing her the horrible-looking package he just wrapped.

"As long as Micah can get it open who cares what it looks like," she shrugged. Jo turned to Sam, raising her eyebrows at the man. "Hey, Sam, wanna help?"

"No, not really. We do have other things to worry about," he said.

Dean sighed, annoyed. "Shut it, Sam."

Sam turned right back to his brother, "Don't tell me to shut up, Dean. Since when do you even care about this stuff?"

"Since I became a father, that's when," he argued.

"You're not a father, you're just a caregiver to a…a half-breed, abused little brat who you felt sorry for."

Dean stared at his brother at that, not saying a word. "Get. Out." He told his brother, flatly.

Sam stared back at Dean, realizing what he had just said. "Look, I'm sorry, man…" Sam tried so hard to have some sympathy but it was useless.

"Get out of my room, right now!"

Sam gave one last look before walking out of the room.

Dean started wrapping a light green tall container of Legos next. Jo knew he was upset so she went over to sit beside him. "You did the right thing, Dean," she assured him. "You did what your heart told you to do and made a family for yourself. It's not Sam's fault, remember?"

"I know." He didn't look up. "I just want my little brother back. If Sam just had his soul I know he would care about Micah as much as the rest of us does."

Jo had her arm around him, rubbing his upper arm. "We'll find a way to get Sam's soul back."

Dean continued wrapping the gift.

When it was time to leave, Dean and Jo packed up the Impala. Dean tried to get Sam to come with them but Sam refused, saying he had other stuff to do so they left without him.

Dean forced a smile up at the rearview mirror to look at Micah in the backseat as she held her zebra in her arms. "You ready for your party, Mic?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she replied, excitedly.

"Are ya hungry for some pizza?"

"Yeah," Micah repeated, just as excited as before.

Dean laughed. "Just a little bit further, okay?"

She nodded.

After a fifteen-minute drive, Dean pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center and parked in front of the Chuck E. Cheese before stepping out. He let Micah out closing the car door for her once she was out. Micah took ahold of his hand as they walked up the kids' place. This was the most excited she had ever been.

Inside, all three of them got their hand stamped. Micah was a little eerie about it, not wanting to hold out her hand to the young woman holding the stamp. Both Dean and Jo assured the little girl that it won't hurt. Micah slowly held out her hand, not taking her eyes off the stamp. Afterwards, they were guided over to where they had their table reserved in the party area and started setting up, heading back outside to grab the gifts and the cake from the car. Their corner of the birthday area was decorated in balloons with one in the shape of Chuckie's upper half and _Birthday Star_. Micah was also given a sticker to wear of the same thing as the balloon.

The guy from the garage Dean worked at, and his young son was the first guests to arrive. Dean tried to introduce the kid to Micah but stayed hidden behind his legs, refusing to come out even when he suggested the kids go play.

Ellen and Bobby had arrived around the same time, walking in together. When Bobby set his gift on the table, Dean had noticed it had several holes all over and looked at the old man.

"Bobby, what is that?" he asked of him.

Bobby grinned and shrugged, "You'll see later."

"Bobby, I swear, if that thing's alive," Dean warned, "it's on."

But the old man only snickered.

Jo had taken Micah over to the games first, letting Micah choose what she wanted to play. Micah wanted to play the skeeball mostly. Jo showed her how at first and it wasn't long until Micah had the hang of it but only managed to get the balls into the lowest hole.

Jo suggested they get their picture "drawn" when she and Micah passed the sketch machine. Micah climbed up onto the bench first before Jo sat next to her, and pulled Micah into her arms, holding their heads against each other. It took their picture and the screen started sketching the two of them.

After playing for a while, the girls rejoined the group. The pizza was already sitting there, with several pieces gone. Dean asked Micah if she was hungry which Micah happily said yes.

"Which one would you like, Mic?" he asked her, pointing between each pizza. "Pepperoni, cheese, or sausage?"

"Pepperoni," she replied.

Dean placed a slice of the pepperoni on a paper plate for Micah and set it in front of her. "What would you like to drink?" he asked next, grabbing her cup from the table. "Sprite, root beer, Powerade, or Hi C?"

"Sprite."

"Eat your pizza and I'll be right back, okay," Dean told her before he walked towards the soda fountain.

Micah picked up her pizza slice and bit off the end of it, chewing it slowly.

"Is it yummy, Mic?" Ellen smiled across from her, having a salad.

Micah nodded. She took another bite before she said, "Nana."

Ellen and Jo looked at the girl in surprise. That was the first time Micah had called Ellen, Nana.

Ellen responded, "Yes, sweetheart?"

"After I eat, can you pway games wit me?" she asked, shyly.

She smiled, warmly, thrilled Micah was starting to open up to her and possibly consider Ellen as another grandmother. "Of course I can. I think we're gonna do cake and presents after we eat though but after that we can go play games."

Dean returned with Micah's drink, setting it beside her plate. "What can I get you, Jo," he asked her next.

"I'll take a Coke," she replied. "Thanks, Dean."

He grabbed another cup, a size bigger than Micah's and headed over to the soda fountain again.

Bobby was sitting beside Ellen, eating a slice that had the sausage. "So, are ya having fun, kiddo?" he asked Micah.

Micah was peeling off one of the pepperonis. She nodded at the old man as she ate it. Micah tried to peel off another that was too melted to the cheese. The rest of the cheese came off so Micah held it up, tilting her head back to place the whole thing in her mouth. When it was nothing but the crust and tomato sauce, she picked it up and started licking the sauce off.

Jo noticed out of the corner of her eye. "Micah, sweetheart, don't eat your pizza like that. Eat it right."

Micah stopped licking the sauce off but instead used her finger, sucking the sauce off.

"Do you not like the crust, sweetheart?" Jo asked, concerned.

Micah motioned for her mother to move closer. Jo ducked her head to the side so she could whisper, "I eat all the cheese off first."

"Well, can you try eating the pizza together?" she suggested. "We're in public and that's not good table manners."

Micah nodded and picked up the crust to finish it off.

Dean returned, setting Jo's drink down. "How we doing, Mic? Ready for another slice?" he asked, standing over Micah.

She looked up at her adopted father, upside down. "No, I still eat tis one."

He stared at her pizza slice. "Where's your cheese?"

"I eat it," Micah replied.

Dean smirked, "You ate it, huh?" He leaned down and kissed her several times on the cheek before standing back up. "Finish eating, okay? They're about to start any minute now."

"What?" she asked.

"The cake," he replied. "The rat's gonna come out and sing for ya, I think."

"Is it a Kai-Lan cake?"

"You bet, kid-do…" A small noise got Dean's attention. It sounded like it came from the end of the able where the gifts were. It sounded like a moaning sound. He looked over at Bobby. "Bobby, that better be a talking toy," he warned.

Bobby just shrugged, "Maybe."

Sometime later, an employee walked over to their table and asked for the birthday cake. Jo stood up and headed down the end of the table to grab the cake. It had white frosting and figurines of the _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan _cartoon characters and colorful sprinkles all over the top. The employee took the cake in the back to get it prepped after she told Jo to get the birthday girl ready.

When she was gone, Jo walked back over where Micah was sitting. "Hey, Micah, they're about to start and they need for you to stand up since you're the birthday girl," she explained. Jo helped Micah stand up on the bench she had been sitting on. Micah wasn't sure about standing that high and tried to hold onto Jo.

It was only a few minutes wait until the employee returned with the cake. This time it had five candles on it with the clear, plastic lid off. She set it down where Micah's plate used to be when Dean quickly moved it.

Next, Chuckie came out. Dozens of kids who had been playing or eating turned to watch. There was one other birthday party there and Chuckie had gone to Micah first since her cake was ready. The moment he got close, Micah got scared and fell forward on Dean, burying her face in his right shoulder.

"I thought you wanted to see Chuckie, kiddo," Dean comforted her.

Micah started whimpering to herself.

"It's okay, sweetheart," the employee assured her, "Chuckie won't hurt you. He wants to be your friend."

Micah was squeezing her adopted father's neck by now. "It's okay, Mic, I'm right here. Nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise." Dean urged her to stand up again, unhooking her arms from his neck. Micah reluctantly stood up but stayed close to him as possible. She wasn't expecting Chuckie to be that tall.

Chuckie tried to make her feel better, waving at Micah and held his "paw" out for a high five.

"He wants a high five, sweetheart," Jo told Micah, assuringly.

"Yeah, don't leave him hanging," Dean teased her, holding his arms around her waist.

Micah watched the mouse carefully. She shyly held her hand up which Chuckie high-fived it. The employee handed Chuckie a red, inflatable crown with blue tips and tokens all the way around in clear, plastic pouches. Chuckie took it and held it over Micah's head. Micah flinched, eyeing the crown but allowed him to put it on her head. Chuckie and the employee clapped, encouraging everyone at the table to join in. They did as the group cheered for Micah and the employee started lighting the candles.

The employee then started the birthday song as she lit the last couple candles and everyone joined in. Micah looked around at everyone, remembering her last birthday with her grandmother. Her grandmother had been the only one to sing it to her, never a whole group. Every single person smiled as they sang to Micah. When the song was over, Dean told her to blow out her candles. Micah leaned forward, making Dean hastily grab her hair before it caught on fire, holding it back. She then blew them all out as everyone cheered some more.

The employee came up behind Micah, holding a birthday metal and placed it around her neck. Micah flinched from her touch and almost fell off the bench if Dean hadn't of caught her. Once Micah was safe, he reached down under the table and picked up the metal the employee had dropped and put it on Micah for her.

Micah looked down at the metal, lifting it up in her hand to examine it. Like everything else, it said, _Birthday Star_. Never had she had this much attention, not even on her birthday. Micah felt so loved she started to feel she could trust everyone in her new family. She had a mother, a father, another grandmother, an uncle. Since Sam wasn't there, Micah still couldn't trust him at all yet but those who were there seemed to care enough.

The employee took the cake away, moving it so she could cut it into slices for them, handing Micah the first piece, removing the figurines first and placed them on a separate plate. When she finished handing out the cake, the employee left the group to their own to prepare for the next birthday kid.

Once Micah finished, Dean and Jo decided to let her open her gifts next, having her stand up again on the bench. Dean, his work friend, and Bobby moved the gifts closer. Dean set the gift from Bobby in front of Micah.

"Open this one first, Mic. I really need to know what's in here that keeps making a noise," he told her.

Micah dug into the birthday wrapping paper, tearing it off. It was then they saw it was a medium-sized pet carrier. Micah kneeled down to look inside the door and saw a white cat with several patches of brown and tan fur looking back at her.

"Kitty," Micah said, softly.

"His name's Koda and he's all yours," Bobby told her with a smile.

Dean stared over at the old man. "Really?" he questioned.

"What?" he shrugged, innocently. "Kid deserves a pet of her own."

"I said no to a dog, what made you think a freaking cat would be any better?"

"I think he's cute." Jo was looking inside the pet carrier with Micah, sticking her finger inside for the cat to sniff it. The cat cautiously inched near it and sniffed her finger, carefully. "It actually suits Micah too because it's cautious among strangers like she is."

"Yeah, but if it raises a claw even once, it's adios, cat," Dean warned.

"I checked with the shelter on every detail," Bobby explained. "It's litter box trained, very family-friendly, especially with young kids, and warms up to ya fast. Within five minutes, it was climbing into my lap when I brought it to my house."

Dean was eyeing the cat, carefully. He wasn't too thrilled to be living with an animal. It was going to take some getting used to and he wasn't sure how Sam was going to react either.

Jo moved the pet carrier over so Micah could open the next gift. The next one was from Dean's work friend and his son. Micah tore off the wrapping paper to find a case of Lincoln logs.

"Wow, Micah, what is that?" Jo asked, excited for the little girl.

Micah shrugged, looking at the front of the case.

"You build with them," Ellen explained when she saw what it was. "They're called Lincoln logs. You can build houses with them."

"That's cool, huh, Micah? What do you say to Mike and Isaac?" Jo told her.

Micah looked up at Dean's friend and his son who was watching too. "Tank you," she said, shyly just above a whisper.

The guy, Mike smiled, "You're welcome, Micah."

Jo set the Lincoln logs to the side with Koda as Dean replaced it with another gift that was from Ellen this time. This one was a gift bag with tissue paper sticking out. Micah pulled out the tissue paper, looking at it, thinking that was the gift until Ellen assured her it wasn't. Micah looked inside the large, _Dora the Explorer _gift bag. She saw a bunch of clothes inside but what she went for was a stuffed wolf cub and a DVD of _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan_ episodes. The wolf cub was twice the size of her zebra, with grey and white tufts of hair on the sides of its muzzle and inside its ears.

Micah hugged the wolf to her as she looked over the DVD before showing it to her adopted parents. "Kai-Lan," she said, softly, excited.

"I see that, sweetheart," Jo told her while Dean praised her.

"Awesome, now Kai-Lan can be played twenty-four/seven," Dean said, trying to forcedly be excited but wasn't looking forward to be watching it all the time. He'd do it though if his little girl asked him to, otherwise he would play it and find some way to occupy his time.

"There's clothes in there too," Ellen pointed out when Jo took the wolf and DVD from Micah to place back inside the bag for now.

Jo looked inside the bag, taking out the clothes one at a time to hold them up. "What do you say to Nana, for the gifts?"

"Tank you, Nana," Micah told Ellen, shyly again.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," she smiled in return.

The last six gifts were from Dean and Jo. Micah opened the container of Legos first. Four of the gifts were DVDs, one of more episodes of _Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan_, _Finding Nemo_, _Meet the Robinsons_, and _Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Movie_. The last gift Micah opened was a lifelike baby doll that cries, laughs, and comes with a bottle, pacifier, and an extra diaper.

"Now you can practice for when the time comes when you have a baby sister someday," Jo told her.

"What's her name?" Micah asked her adopted mother, softly, meaning the doll.

"I don't know, you would have to think of a name," Jo said. "What should her name be?"

Micah thought about it, carefully. "Granma was Connie so the baby is Connie," she finally said.

"That is a great name, Micah." Jo kissed her right cheek. "Happy birthday."

Dean reached over, holding Micah's head to him and kissed her other cheek. "Happy birthday, Mic."

Everyone helped clean up, except Ellen. She took Micah to play more of the games. Micah wanted to do the sketch machine again, this time getting one with her new grandmother. She did it a third time once Dean met up with them after they finished loading the Impala. Unfortunately they couldn't stay long because of Bobby's gift to Micah, but Micah was feeling tired anyway, falling asleep on the drive home, clutching her zebra and new wolf she decided to name, Wolfie, to her.

Jo held the pet carrier on her lap the whole way. Bobby had also given them stuff he bought for the cat to start with, a litter box with kitty litter, a large bag of cat food, a bed, and several cat toys. He had also gotten a tall scratching post. Since it took up the whole backseat, Micah had to ride up front with her adopted parents, her head on Dean's leg as he drove. She was upright when she fell asleep but not long after she had fallen over against Dean, and he very carefully without waking her, moved her head to his leg so she'd be more comfortable.

When Dean pulled into the driveway, he carried Micah into the house first, up to her bedroom and laid her on her bed, removing her shoes and jacket. He placed her stuffed animals beside her as he kissed Micah on the forehead before heading downstairs.


	20. Chapter 20

Answered Prayers

Chapter 20

Over the next month, Dean and Sam left out different kinds of sweets inside a spell circle they found in the book Bobby got the information on elves from. Dean tried to stay up with Sam to wait but always ended up falling asleep on the couch with his arms folded across his chest while Sam stayed up all night. Every night an elf would come but not the one they wanted. Not only that but with Micah living there, supernatural creatures were starting to be attracted to their home and tried to break in. A vampire broke through her window one night, waking Micah from a sound sleep. Her screams brought Dean inside, followed by Sam and Jo.

Jo rushed to Micah's side, pulling her into her arms as Dean fought the vampire away while Sam ran to get the machetes they needed to kill it. When Sam brought them back, he tossed Dean one of the machetes. Dean caught it and swung the blade at the vampire. Jo shielded Micah from seeing the bloody massacre.

The body dropped, limply on the floor as the head rolled away a few feet away. Dean stood there, watching as he panted. He looked over where Micah was crying in her adopted mother's arms.

"Did she get bit?" Dean asked Jo.

Jo looked down at the terrified, little girl. She checked Micah over, looking for any bite marks before she looked up at Dean again and shook her head as she held Micah to her again.

This time, Micah pushed out of Jo's arms and held her own arms up towards where Dean was still standing. "I want Daddy."

Dean was about to move closer to his little girl when Sam stopped him, telling him that maybe he should clean the blood spatter off before he held Micah. He agreed and tried to assure Micah that he was going to get cleaned up first. Micah's lower lip quivered, wanting to be in her adopted father's safe, loving arms at that point.

First, Sam and Dean disposed of the body, burying it in the backyard before Dean got cleaned up. When he returned to Micah's room, Jo was holding the little girl on her lap while Sam was over scrubbing the blood out of the carpet with peroxide. Dean walked over to the bed and lifted Micah from Jo's lap, holding Micah on his side. Micah immediately wrapped her arms around his neck before he sat down on the edge of the bed.

The whole time he was getting cleaned up and even now, Dean couldn't help think how much his little girl was in danger. His instincts were telling him to uproot his family and move somewhere else, that they weren't safe where they were.

Finally, he said, "We need to move. As soon as possible."

Jo looked at him. "What?" she asked.

Dean looked back at her, "We're not safe here, Jo. Micah's not safe here. We need to move."

Sam heard his brother from where he was kneeled. "Dean, wherever you go monsters will find her. It's that mark of Micah's that drawing them here. Moving's not gonna do a thing."

"Sam's right, Dean," Jo agreed. "As long as Micah has that burn, monsters will keep coming. That's why we have to keep trying to find her elf father and convince him to remove it."

"How Dad raised us isn't going to work, Dean, not with Micah," Sam added.

Dean stared at the floor the whole time as he held Micah on his lap. He shut his eyes, squeezing the little girl in a tight embrace.

Jo put her arm around him, "We'll think of something, Dean. I promise, Micah will be fine," she assured the man. Even though Jo was talking to Dean, she was more along the lines of trying to assure herself, as well. Jo was terrified of what could happen to Micah just as much as Dean was.

Dean looked over at Jo before tears filled his eyes and leaned to the side to rest his head on her shoulder. The small family stayed that way for a while. The three of them slept, huddled together on Micah's bed for the rest of the night, even Koda joined them, curled up on the side of Dean's pelvis. Dean shooed the cat away in his sleep but Koda would return two minutes later.

More days came and went. The hunters still hadn't found the right elf they needed. Micah hadn't been sleeping in her own bed since the night the vampire broke in. Instead, she slept in her adopted parents' bed with them. Well, mostly with Jo since Dean stayed up with Sam, trying to catch the elf. Micah usually stayed by either Jo or Dean's side wherever they were.

Of course Dean had to work if he wanted to keep his job at the garage. It killed him though even though he and Jo left Micah at Bobby's house. Dean wanted to be the one looking out for her and thought about how scared she must have been without him there.

The first morning they decided to drop Micah off at Bobby's house alone, Dean and Jo explained to her that she would be in the best and safe care. Dean had already taken Micah over there with him so Micah would get used to Bobby. It gotten to the point where he couldn't bring Micah into work anymore and Jo didn't want Micah growing up, spending days sitting cooped up in her own mother's office all the day long. So Jo convinced Dean to just let Bobby babysit which the old hunter did not mind a bit.

Dean pulled into the salvage yard and parked in front of the faded, blue two-story house. He turned the car off and removed the keys before opening his door. Jo slid out of the passenger seat and walked around to his side as Dean opened Micah's door for her.

"Come on, kiddo," Dean told the little girl, who was clutching her zebra and wolf to her. He lifted Micah from the backseat and onto his right side. Dean grabbed her _Ni-hao, Kai-Lan_ pink backpack from the floor and passed it to Jo. Jo held it on one shoulder as they walked up to the front door and knocked.

Bobby answered the door not long after and stepped aside to let the family inside. Micah hid her face in her adopted father's shoulder as they walked past the gruff-looking, old man. Dean tried to place the little girl down on her feet but Micah refused to let go.

"Remember what we talked about, Mic," he reminded her, softly, in a squatting position. "You're safe here, I promise. We wouldn't leave you with Uncle Bobby if it wasn't."

"I stay wit you, Daddy," she sniffled, quietly so only Dean heard.

"I wish you could but I have to go to work."

Micah lifted her eyes from his shoulder to look up at her adopted father. "Why can't I go wit you? I do someting wong?"

"No, Mic," Dean assured her, shaking his head, "you didn't do anything wrong. It's getting very busy at the garage and I can't keep bringing you. I promise though, once the garage isn't so busy you can come to work with me again. For right now though, you have to stay with Uncle Bobby while your mom and I work. Okay?"

Micah continued to shake her head as fresh tears appeared on her face.

Jo moved over to join them, kneeling. "It's gonna be okay, Micah. Daddy and I will pick you up around three when you wake up from your nap," she said before standing up, motioning for Dean to do the same.

Dean looked from Jo to Micah before he reluctantly stood up, straight. He ran his right hand through her hair as Dean gave Micah a loving smile. Micah's lip quivered which broke his heart. Even though he trusted Bobby one hundred percent to watch over Micah, he still couldn't help feel horrible leaving his little girl in the state she was in.

Jo handed Bobby Micah's backpack before kneeling back to give Micah a hug and kiss good-bye. "Have fun with Uncle Bobby, okay. I love you, Mic," Jo told her and stood up so Dean could kneel down again for one last hug and kiss.

"Be good for Uncle Bobby, okay, Mic?" he said as he hugged Micah. Dean kissed Micah on the side of her forehead, standing up again.

"Micah's gonna be fine," Bobby assured the young parents and reached over to open the door. The moment both Dean and Jo tried to leave Micah suddenly cried out and clung to Dean's left leg.

"Don't go! Don't go!" she wailed over and over, loudly, catching all the adults off guard.

"That is enough, Micah Isaiah," Dean scolded, trying to peel the little girl off his leg. "Everything's gonna be fine, I promise. Your mom and I will come back for you after work."

"Don't weave me, Daddy!" she cried, fighting off her adopted father's arms and continued hugging his leg. "I don't want you to go."

"We will be back for you after work, Micah. It's just for the day and I promise you will be safe here," he assured her. "Safe and loved."

Micah wasn't listening to reason. She held onto his leg as tight as she possibly could. What if the moment Dean and Jo left her alone with Bobby he would turn on her? She didn't want to take that chance. She didn't want to be unprotected.

Dean tried to remain calm. It was breaking his heart to put Micah through all of this but sooner or later, like when she started school, they would have to do this. Micah was soaking Dean's jeans with not only her tears as her nose ran, too. Before long Micah was hiccupping, pleading for Dean not to leave her there. Finally, he grabbed ahold of her upper arms, firmly but gently and pulled them from his leg as she struggled to break free to grab it again.

Dean then kneeled to her level. "Look at me, Micah," he told her, firmly while trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Micah wouldn't look at her adopted father, keeping her eyes shut as tears and snot drenched her face. "Look at me, Micah Isaiah."

When Micah heard her first and middle name she instantly snapped her eyes open. Dean had her take slow, deep breaths so she wouldn't hyperventilate. Once she had her breath, Dean spoke.

"It's okay to be scared. I'm not upset about that. But you need to relax and listen to what your mom and I are telling you. We're not leaving you with Sam since he's not…" Dean tried to think of the right words to say to Micah, "…well enough to take care of you for the day. Uncle Bobby is a nice guy, I promise. Remember when I told you my dad would leave Sam and me with him? I always had lots of fun here, and maybe Uncle Bobby will let you help him fix cars too. Okay?"

Micah sniffed, listening to her adopted father. She leaned in to whisper, "What if he gets mad at me?"

Dean shook his head, "He's not gonna get mad at you, Mic. But you do have to listen to what he tells you and be good for him like I know you are." His voice grew firm once more, "but if I hear you gave him a hard time or did not listen, you and I will be having a chat when we get home, this afternoon. Understand me?"

She nodded, pitifully.

"I love you, Mic," he said before standing up and planted a kiss on her forehead. Dean ran his hand through her hair, giving Micah an assuring smile and walked towards the front door.

Micah tried to run after him but Jo stepped in, holding the little girl in place. "Listen to your father, Micah," Jo told her. "You need to stay here with Uncle Bobby. You're gonna have a great time here." Jo kissed Micah in the same spot Dean had before she stood up straight and followed him out the door. Micah watched them leave. She had picked up her stuffed animals she had dropped and stood, rooted to the floor as tears continued fall.

Bobby closed the door behind them and turned around to look at the little girl. He tried to reach out and hand Micah her backpack but she flinched, thinking he was going to do something to her. He gave her a sad look, "I was just giving ya yer backpack."

She cautiously reached out and took her backpack by one of the pink straps and placed it on her left shoulder, shifting her stuffed animals to her left arm so Micah could put her other arm through the other strap.

"How's Koda doing?" Bobby asked, trying to break the tension between them.

Micah just stared up at the older man, clutching her stuffed animals to her chest. The girls enjoyed the cat's company but the brothers were another story. The moment Sam found out a cat would be living there, he started keeping his door shut whether he was in his room or not. In fact it scared Micah how Sam was home right now alone with Koda and wondered if he would do anything. Koda was very wearily of the guy anyway so the cat usually stayed away and would hiss if Sam was within a foot of him, sensing there wasn't something right about him. The cat loved Micah though, sometimes acting like a dog in protecting the little girl, especially when Sam was in the same room.

"Are you hungry?" Bobby asked when he saw the little girl wasn't going to answer. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

The little girl nodded, slowly at the last question.

"I fixed my TV when your mom and dad asked me if I could watch you while they worked. Want me to put cartoons on for you?"

Micah nodded this time.

Bobby smiled for her before walking towards his study. Micah backed away, thinking the man was walking towards her and watched as he walked right passed her, into the other room. Bobby went around the wall and grabbed the remote from on top of the TV he had moved in there.

"I only have two channels with cartoons," he called back to her.

Micah cautiously stepped towards the archway to look around the wall to see him surfing through the channels until he stopped on PBS where _Clifford, the Big, Red Dog_ was playing.

Bobby nodded over to the couch behind him, "You can sit if ya like."

Micah looked over at the old couch then over at Bobby. One of the phones rang from the kitchen so he had to go answer it, setting the remote back on top of the TV. Glancing at the TV, Micah walked over to sit on the edge of the couch to watch the cartoon. Bobby let her watch TV for a couple hours while he got some work done inside. Micah stayed, curled in one corner of the couch watching the cartoons until he finished and asked her if she wanted to play outside while he did some work out in the yard.

While Bobby worked on a car out in the garage, Micah wandered around the salvage yard, staying where he could see her. Thanks to Dean though, she couldn't help keep looking over at what the man was doing. Because she liked to build things is what interested the little girl when Dean showed her a thing or two under a hood. But would Bobby let her help was the big question.

The little girl circled around the garage, keeping a watchful eye on Bobby. It was a good forty-five minutes before he figured it out and invited her over. Micah did, eventually. It took fifteen, twenty minutes until she got close before Bobby asked if she wanted to help.

Bobby looked around the garage before he went over to grab a dark blue milk crate and brought it over to place upside down in front of the car he was working on. "I could use an extra hand," he smiled, warmly at Micah.

Micah tried to take a step forward but then suddenly bolted away. Instead, she just watched Bobby from afar, yearning to work on the car. She watched until he stopped, heading over to her.

"It's about lunchtime, would you like something to eat?" he asked her.

Micah had backed away, quickly when Bobby came near her, clutching her stuffed animals even tighter. Her stomach spoke for her though and he heard it.

"I'll take that as a yes," he chuckled, "How about fish sticks and tater tots?"

She nodded, slowly and followed the man inside, making sure to keep some distance between them.

Micah watched the only other cartoon channel while the fish sticks and tater tots cooked in the oven. When the food was done, Bobby took the pan out and slowly dumped them onto a plate.

"Lunch is ready," he said as he brought the plate into his study and offered it to Micah. Micah looked at it, wanting to take it. "You can take it, sweetheart. It won't bite."

She set her stuffed animals beside her on the couch and took the plate from him.

"Would you like some ketchup?"

Micah nodded.

Bobby headed back into the kitchen to the fridge to fish out the ketchup, bringing it back as he lifted the lid, squirting some on her plate. "You want something to drink? I have milk and juice."

She hesitated before Micah muttered, "Juice."

"Juice?" he repeated.

Micah nodded.

After lunch, Bobby let Micah watch one more cartoon before he turned it off, telling her it was bedtime. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and unfolded it to cover the little girl up. Micah flinched back when she saw how close he was to her.

"I was just covering you up, sweetheart. I promise I won't ever hurt you," he assured her and let go of the blanket. "Sleep tight, okay. Your mom and dad should be here when you wake up."

Micah eyed the man until he was in the kitchen where she couldn't see him anymore. She could still hear him as he started the dishes. Even though she closed her eyes, Micah never fell asleep. Her guard stayed up, still wearily of the man as she held her stuffed animals to her. She couldn't wait for Dean and Jo to come back for her but time seemed to move slowly.

She heard the phone ring many times but Bobby had made sure to keep his voice down so Micah couldn't hear what he was saying. Eventually, she heard his footsteps leave the kitchen and walk towards her. Micah clutched her stuffed animals even tighter, pulling the blanket up over her head but the footsteps walked right past her and she heard him sit at his desk. Now and then, sleep would overcome her but just for a short time before she would wake up and listen for the man, stealing a peek around the edge of the blanket. Every time Bobby would be sitting at his desk, reading from a thick book, not noticing Micah was watching him.

Twenty minutes after three o'clock, there was a knock on the front door. Micah heard Bobby scoot his chair back and stood up to walk over and answer it. The moment she heard her adopted parents' voices, Micah bolted from the couch and dashed over to where they were walking into Bobby's study. She ran for Dean of course who scooped her up in his arms.

"Hey, kiddo," Dean greeted, cheerfully. "Did you have fun?"

Micah didn't answer, she just hugged his neck, wrapping her legs around him like she didn't want to let go of her adopted father ever again.

"Micah didn't talk at all, except for one word and she barely muttered it," Bobby explained. "All I got were head movements. She watched TV most of the day and I let her play outside while I worked on a car but Micah didn't really play. She did watch me and I could tell she wanted to help me but the kid bolted when she got close. She just watched me like a hawk circling its food."

Jo had walked over to the couch to grab Micah's backpack and stuffed animals. "How long did she sleep for?" she asked Bobby, turning back around to face him.

He shrugged, "Not much. I put her down around one but she slept for a few minutes before she woke up again. She pretended to be sleeping for most of the time but I knew when she wasn't."

Micah grew nervous when she heard Bobby had known all along when she wasn't sleeping, and squeezed her adopted father's neck tighter.

Dean could feel it too and rubbed her back up and down. "Well, thanks, Bobby," he told the man. "We really do appreciate you watching Micah for us."

Bobby shrugged, "It's no trouble at all. I think when the tyke eventually opens up to me we'll have a great time together. Maybe you should bring the cat with her tomorrow, might help her to feel at ease."

"Well then, Jo can drop her off tomorrow because that overgrown rat isn't stepping a paw in my car," Dean replied, shaking his head.

"I did give you a pet carrier to transport the cat, you know," Bobby reminded him with a chuckle.

"I don't care. That thing follows me around the house, coughs up hairballs, and licks itself in very naughty places. Not to mention it hates Sam. I'm not fond of it and worse, the darn thing won't leave. I leave the door open for it to run away but it always comes right back, bearing gifts and not the good kind either. Oh, I'm talking about dead mice, rats, birds, lizards."

Jo couldn't help snicker at Dean. "Micah loves him, Bobby," she assured the older man. "He's very protective of her."

Bobby was grinning at Dean too. "Hey, that's all that matters," he shrugged at her.

Dean sulked quietly to himself, holding Micah. They eventually walked out to the Impala where Micah finally asked, "I in twouble, Daddy?"

"No, kiddo," he assured her, "you're not in any trouble. You need to understand that Uncle Bobby is a good man. I mean who would give a kid a rat, I mean cat," Dean sighed before continuing, "if they weren't good?"

Micah looked downward for a second before looking up again. "Will I be back tomor-wow?"

"Yes, this is where you will go while your mom and I are working until you start school next fall. Unless we're slow at the garage," Dean kissed her left cheek. He then set her down on her feet and opened the car door for her to climb into the backseat.

The moment they got home, Micah went in search of her cat to make sure Sam didn't do anything to him. She found Koda hiding under her bed. "Come out, Koda. It's okay," she told the cat, mimicking what Dean would tell her.

Koda wandered out from under the bed, meowing softly and rubbed himself up against the little girl who was lying on her stomach, purring like a moped. Micah did the same with her head. She had opened up to the cat quicker than she had with Dean. Her grandmother had loved cats and always had cat stuff up around her house. They had always talked about getting a cat to add to their little family but of course that day never came. When Micah saw she had gotten a cat for her birthday, it made her very happy that for the first week, all she wanted to do was play with him. It was strange when the adults saw how much the cat would play with Micah like it was a dog or something but Jo couldn't be any more proud of how much happy it made her little girl and see her laugh and have fun. Dean wouldn't admit it but he was glad too but wished it didn't have to be a cat though and he really did try to leave the door open but after a while he realized it would probably upset Micah to know her new best friend was gone and Dean didn't want that. But seriously, why did it have to be a cat?


End file.
